Worsening Epidemic of HIVand Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Jiangsu Province, China

Background. Epidemics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) are major public health concerns in most parts of China. A dearth of information regarding the current trend of HIV in this hard-to-reach population in several regions including Jiangsu, coupled with the reemergence of syphilis, calls for an effort to understand the dynamics of the dual epidemic in this province. Methods. To estimate the occurrence and burden of these 2 sexually transmitted diseases and the distribution of their potential sociobehavioral correlates among MSM in Jiangsu, 2 cohort studies were conducted in Yangzhou and Changzhou cities. Results. Among 839 participants, 48% were married, 51.7% had sex with women in the last 6 months, and 25.5% did notusecondomsduringtheirlastanalintercourse.TheobservedincidenceofHIVwas13.59and12.62andthatofsyphilis was 7.33 and13.25 per100 person-years amongthe participants of YangzhouandChangzhou, respectively. The baseline prevalence of HIV and syphilis was 16.0% and 29.9% in Yangzhou and 13.6% and 14.9% in Changzhou, respectively. Conclusions. ConsiderablyhighincidenceandprevalenceofHIVandsyphilisamongparticipantsandtheirpotential bridgingroleintransmittingtheseinfectionstothegeneralpopulationinYangzhouandChangzhoucitiescallsforurgent effective intervention strategies.