title: Dynamics of the HIV epidemic in southern China: sexual and drug-using behaviours among female sex workers and male clients in Yunnan.
abstract: To examine the HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related risk behaviours among community-based female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients in Yunnan Province, China, we performed a cross-sectional study of 705 FSWs and 100 male clients. We found that HIV seroprevalence among FSWs was 13.0% and the most prevalent STI was herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) (71.1%), followed by Chlamydia trachomatis (18.1%) and syphilis (8.8%). The 20% of FSWs who reported injection drug use also reported needle-sharing behaviours in the last three months. Drug-using FSWs had substantially higher HIV and HSV-2 prevalence, serviced more clients and had a longer history of sex work than non-using FSWs. In total, 57.0% of male clients did not consistently use condoms with FSWs, 2.0% reported illicit drug use and 17.0% had STI symptoms in the last year. The dual risk behaviours of drug-using FSWs and clients place them at greater risk of HIV infection. Intervention programmes must adopt comprehensive methods.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Immunology, 1st Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: H Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D017280:Condoms; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055030:Drug Users / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058872:Epidemics; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011477:Sex Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires