1st survey on homosexual HIV carriers underway
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-07-25 14:35

An authoritative survey on the proportion of homosexuals and homosexual HIV carriers has been underway in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, which is the first survey on this issue in the country.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Heilongjiang Province has received 1,300 questionnaires from a Chinese website on the proportion of homosexuals and homosexual HIV carriers and begun analysis, said Wu Yuhua, deputy head of the provincial disease and virus control institute.

This was a part of a China-US program on the prevention and control of AIDS jointly conducted by Chinese Ministry of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States, which aimed at improving the monitoring, prevention and control of AIDS in China. The program was launched in April of 2004 and would operate for five years, said Wu.

Heilongjiang is one of the 10 provinces and regions in China which takes a part in this program and has set up the only monitoring site on homosexual AIDS groups.

It was difficult to research on homosexuals as most of them were living a secret life, so the provincial department cooperated with a website, www.aixinsky.com, to conduct the survey, Wu said.

The website researched in several homosexual-concentrated places and collected 270 urine and 50 blood samples of homosexuals as well as making questionnaires and handed in them to the provincial department on July 17.

The data collected by the website will be an important reference to the prevention and control on AIDS of the nation. Andthose HIV carriers found in the survey would be timely given treatment and care, said Wu.