Objective To understand HIV/AIDS epidemic and testing status in Guangdong Province so as to provide scientific evidence for policy and strategy making. Methods Data were collected from the HIV/AIDS reporting system, sentinel surveillance system, and specific surveys from 2000 to 2013 in Guangdong Province and analyze by using descriptive epidemiology method. Results A total of 49 038 HIV/AIDS cases were reported from 2000 to 2013 in Guangdong Province. The annual reported HIV/AIDS cases increased from 326 in 2000 to 7 631 in 2013, with an average annual increase rate of 23.2%. Amongst all the cases, 78.6% were males and 21.4%, females. Their age distributions were mainly in 30 to 39 years and 20 to 29 years, accounting for 37.9% and 29.1% respectively. Occupations were mainly the unemployed (23.1%) and peasants (19.2%). Of them, 60.9% had Guangdong provincial residency. HIV transmission route was mainly the heterosexual contact (46.7% of all cases), followed by injection drug use (34.9%). HIV antibody positive rates were high among spouses or sexual partners of HIV positive people (11.735%, 280/2 386), children of HIV positive mothers (9.381%, 50/533), people from voluntary HIV counseling and testing clinics (1.569%, 3 920/249 775), and people from detoxification centers (1.299%, 2 486/191 399). Conclusion The HIV epidemic was increasing in Guangdong Province from 2000 to 2013. The transmission mode of HIV has changed from injection drug use to sexual contact. Corresponding policy and strategies were urgently needed to expand the HIV testing among high risk population of sexual transmission in Guangdong Province.

Objective To explore survival time and it's influencing factors among people with HIV/AIDS whether needing or having accepted highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or not. Methods A retrospective cohort study was adopted. The subjects were obtained from Chinese national HIV/AIDS comprehensive control and prevention information system, presently living in Guangdong Province from January 2004 to June 2014, excluding less than 15 years old,Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign nationality. Survival curves of four groups were measured by productive-limit method. The difference of survival curves among all the groups were tested by log-rank. The risk factors affecting survival time of people with HIV/AIDS were analyzed by Cox proportional hazard model. Results A total of 28 474 cases were entered for analysis from 36 500 cases of HIV/AIDS who met the conditions. The sex ratio of male and female was 3.54∶1. They were mainly at 15 -39 years of age (68.78%). The marital status was mainly married (44.02%) and the route of transmission was mainly heterosexual (55.33%). Among them, 71.68% needed HAART and 53.50% had accepted it. The eight-year survive rates from high to low were 88.68%, 79.07%, 70.14%, and 42.92% for the four groups of Not-need-but-treated, Need-and-treated, Not-need-and-not-treated, and Need-but-not-treated, respectively (P< 0.01). In the Cox proportional hazard model, the risk of death was 1.42 times in males compared with females, increased 0.60 time for every 10 years of age in the cases aged above 15 years, 5.66 times in heterosexual transmission compared with homosexual transmission, and 9.60 times in transmission by drug injection compared with homosexual transmission. Compared with the group of ＜200 counts/mm3 in the initial test of CD4+T cells, the risk of death was decreased from 0.43 gradually to 0.26 time in the groups of ≥200 counts/mm3. Conclusion HAART can extend the survival time of people living with HIV/AIDS. The test of CD4+T cell counts should be conducted as soon as possible to confirm the course and provide the information for initiating HAART.

Objective To evaluate the immunological and virological effect of HIV/AIDS highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) program on HIV-infected patients in Guangdong. Methods Data of HAART for HIV/AIDS cases in Guangdong Province were obtained from national HIV/AIDS comprehensive information system. The effectiveness of HAART in immunity recovery and viral suppression was estimated by using CD4+T lymphocytes and virus load. Results A total of 12 886 AIDS patients were treated during 2004 to 2013 in Guangdong Province, including 9 393 males and 3 493 females. Their mean age was (40.94±11.87) years and the mean treatment duration was (28.17±24.28) months. At baseline, 61.63% (7 941/12 886) of the patients had CD4+T lymphocytes less than 200 cells/μL, 33.08% (4 263/12 886) had 200-350 cells/μL, and 5.29%（682/12 886）had more than 350 cells/μL. After HAART, 21.32% (2 747/12 886) of the patients had CD4+T lymphocytes < 200 cells/μL, 31.17% (4 017/12 886) had 200-350 cells/μL, and 47.51% (6 122/12 886) had >350 cells/μL, respectively. Compared with those at baseline,the counts of CD4+T lymphocytes of the patients increased obviously after HAART (P＜0.01 for all). Of 12 866 patients completing HAART, 11 053 had HIV viral load<400 copy/mL with a viral inhibitory rate of 85.78%. The viral inhibitory rates were 14.42%, 84.25%, 91.01％, 90.56%, and 90.86％ in the patients after HARRT for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years, respectively. Conclusion HIV/AIDS patients in Guangdong Province showed good virological and immunological responses to HAART. The current China's national HAART regimens were effective and the coverage of antiviral treatment should be improved.

Objective To know the quality of life (QOL) and it's influencing factors among patients infected with HIV with CD4+T lymphocyte counts (CD4 counts) ≤350/mm3 in Zhuhai City, so as to provide targeted interventions for HIV/AIDS. Methods Patients infected with HIV, whose CD4 counts were below 350/mm3 and who were followed up by Foshan Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention or medical institutions in Foshan from October 2013 to March 2014, were investigated by using WHO QOL HIV–BREF. Data of the patients including basic demographic information and related influencing factors were obtained from the "Information management system for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS". Influencing factors of quality of life were analyzed by using multiple linear regression analysis method. Results A total of 179 cases were investigated. The average age was (39.56 ±11.65) years. Among all the cases, 72.07% were males; 33.52% were aged 30-39 years; 51.40% had educational background of junior high school; 51.40% were married; 80.45% were on the job; 50.28% were HIV-infected and 49.72% were patients with AIDS; 64.25% were not residents registered in the city. Heterosexual contact was the main route of HIV transmission (63.69%). The average scores of the cases were lower than those of the general population in psychological domain（13.17±2.72), independence domain（14.12±2.75）, and social relations domain（12.94±2.53）（P<0.01 for all）, but higher in spiritual pillar / religious faith domain (14.29±3.06)（P<0.01）. In multiple linear regression analysis, the related factors affecting the QOL were gender, education, local household registration, route of infection, receiving treatment of opportunistic infections, advertising materials,receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy, and access to condom use (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Especially the scores for HIV/AIDS patients infected through blood transfusion were lower in physical domain,independence domain and spiritual pillar/religious faith domain (partial regression coefficient:-4.67,-4.00,-7.24).Conclusion The QOL of HIV/AIDS patients with CD4 counts ≤350 /mm3 was lower than that of the general population and influenced by many factors. Relevant measures for corresponding domians should be formulated to improve the QOL of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Objective To understand the genotypic distribution of HCV among HIV-1/HCV co-infected injection drug users (IDUs)．b>Methods Plasma samples of HIV-1 seropositive IDUs identified from 2007 to 2012 were collected for the HCV sero-test. RNA genome of HCV-positive samples was purified, and then the HCV Core and NS5B fragments were amplified by RT-nested PCR and sequenced. The target gene sequences were used for HCV genotyping/subtyping via phylogenetic analyses．Results A total of 209 samples of IDUs aged between 18 and 49 years were collected from cities of Huizhou, Dongguan, Yangjiang, Yunfu, Qingyuan, Foshan, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen and 196 cases were males (93.78%). The samples of the IDUs were mainly from Yangjiang and Dongguan (36.84%). Among the 209 samples tested, 166 (79.4%) were found to be positive for HCV antibody. Phylogenetic trees showed that HCV sequences were clustered with standard strains la (10.6%), lb (9.9%), 2a (1.4%), 3a (22.7%), 3b (11.3%), and 6a (44.0%), respectively.Conclusion The most predominant subtype was HCV 6a in IDUs infected with HIV-1 in Guangdong Province, followed by the 3a subtype.

Objective To explore a cost-effective, convenient, simple, and accurate method for estimating the population size of drug users. Methods Six prefectural cities located in eastern, middle, western, and northern parts of Guangdong Province were selected. Simplified multiplier method and capture-recapture method were used to estimate the population size of drug users. Multipliers were obtained using the interview among the drug users in the detoxification centers. Ratios of estimated size of drug users over registered drug users offered by local public security bureaus were calculated in each of cities. Results The estimated lowest and highest population sizes of drug users in the six cities by multiplier method were （4 883, 9 669）,（598, 676）,（3 360, 4 206）,（7 908, 16 920）,（1 375, 5 248）, and（657, 1 321）. The ratios of estimated population sizes to the number of the current registered drug users were (0.8, 1.5), (1.5, 1.7), (1.7, 2.1), (0.7, 1.4), (0.3, 1.3), and (1.5, 3.0), respectively. The corresponding sizes by capture-recapture method were （4 918, 5 048）,（1 259, 1 259）,（4 033, 4 735）,（9 921, 10 976）,（1 995, 2 134）,（1 355, 1 355） and the ratios were (0.8, 0.8), (3.1, 3.1), (2.0, 2.4), (0.8, 0.9), (0.5, 0.5),and (3.1, 3.1). Conclusion Compared with the capture-recapture method, the simplified multiplier method was feasible, rapid, and reliable, and can be used for the areas with limited resources to apply the ratios obtained in the study or used directly.

Objective To explore the epidemic situation of HIV/AIDS in Meizhou City and provide the scientific basis for HIV/AIDS control and prevention．Methods Data of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, sentinel surveillance, and epidemiological survey in Meizhou City from 1992 to 2013 were obtained from the National HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Control and Prevention Information System and analyzed by descriptive epidemiology method．Results The first case of HIV infection was reported in 1992．A cumulative total of 390 HIV/AIDS cases in Meizhou City were reported as of December 31, 2013．Of them, 214 cases were HIV infection, 176 cases were AIDS, and 161 cases were dead; 274 were males and 116, females. The male to female ratio was 2.36∶1．The age distribution ranged mainly from 20 to 49 years, accounting for 68.72% (268/390) of the total cases. The occupation was mainly the peasant (32.31%, 126/390）, followed by the housework and unemployed (14.10%, 55/390）. The heterosexual contact was the main route of HIV transmission (75.64%, 295/390）. Conclusion HIV/AIDS has entered a period of rapid growth in Meizhou City. The epidemic continues to spread from high-risk groups to the general population. The most important strategy of HIV/AIDS control and prevention should focus on the general population and high-risk groups.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of HIV/AIDS so as to provide a scientific basis for the development of prevention and control measures. Methods Epidemic data of HIV/AIDS in Changping District, Beijing during 2007 to 2013 were analyzed by using descriptive epidemiological method.Results A total of 453 HIV/AIDS cases including 15 deaths were reported in Changping from 2007 to 2013. The average annual report incidence rate was 5.63/100 000. The ages of the cases were mainly 20-39 years, accounting for 73.29% (332/453). Amongst all the cases, 415 were males and 38, females. The male to female ratio was 10.92∶1. The occupation was mainly the housekeeping and the unemployed (123 cases, 27.15%), followed by the office staff (63 cases, 13.91%) and business services (58 cases, 12.80%). Conclusion HIV/AIDS epidemic overall presented upward trend in Changping District, Beijing. The cases were mainly males aged 20-39 years. HIV/AIDS prevention and control system should be improved to fully implement the prevention and control measures.

Objective To analyze epidemiological characteristics of HIV/AIDS in Yangchun during 2011 and 2013 so as to provide a scientific basis for developing public health intervention. Methods Epidemic data of HIV/AIDS from 2011-2013 were analyzed by descriptive epidemiology method. Results A total of 227 HIV/AIDS cases were reported during the three years. The average annual incidence was 6.59 per 100 000. Case numbers in the top 5 towns were 51 cases in Chuncheng, 41 in Gangmei, 22 in Chunwan, 17 in Heshui, and 17 in Pomian, respectively, accounting for 65.20% of the total number of reported cases. Amongst all the cases, 169 cases were males and 58, females; the male to female ratio was 2.91∶1; 208 (91.63%) cases were concentrated in the group aged 30 years and over. The occupation was mainly the peasant (127 cases, 55.95%). Heterosexual contact was the main transmission route (81.94%). The way of case finding was mainly the clinical detection in hospitals (43.17%), followed by voluntary counseling testing (VCT) (34.36%). Conclusion HIV/AIDS epidemic presented increasing trend year by year. The HIV/AIDS cases were mainly the males aged 30 years and over. The prevention publicity and education should be strengthened especially for the rural population, and the coverage of hospital screening and VCT should be expanded in the future.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of people seeking HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in Huangzhou District, Huanggang City, so as to provide basis for HIV/AIDS health education. Methods VCT data of Huangzhou District reports from 2011 to 2013 were collected from the VCT information report system and analyzed by using descriptive epidemiology method. Results During the three years, 3 056 persons sought the consultation, including 1 227 males and 1 829 females, and the male to female ratio was 0.67∶1. Their average age was 33 years old. Of all the cases, 1 497 cases aged 21- 30 years (48.99%), 844 aged 31-40 years (27.62%); 2 154 were married with spouses (70.48%) and 663 were unmarried (21.70%); 2 177 cases had the educational level of high school or above (71.24%). The top three reasons for seeking consultation were non commercial and non fixed heterosexual behavior (15.12%), commercial heterosexual behavior (11.45%), and surgery (11.06%). Among 3 056 persons who sought the consultation, 3 050 voluntarily had their HIV antibody detected, with a detection rate of 99.8%. Of them, 7 cases were found HIV antibody positive with a positive rate of 0.23%. Conclusion Those who sought VCT were mainly the married with the spouse, young and middle of age with the educational level of high school or above. They should be the key target population for HIV/AIDS prevention education.

Objective To analyze the situation of HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in Baoan District, Shenzhen City so as to provide the scientific basis for adjusting the strategy of VCT and control of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Methods Data of HIV/AIDS VCT outpatient of Baoan District CDC in 2012-2014 were collected and analyzed by descriptive epidemiology. Results A total of 1 322 clients received VCT service, 93.49% of them were aged 15-44 years, and the male to female ratio was 5∶1. The reasons for inquiry mainly included commercial heterosexual behavior (33.28%), non commercial and non fixed heterosexual contact (21.71%), and male homosexual contact (12.03%). The clients were from various areas, only 13.01% of them were local household registration. All 1 322 clients received HIV test and 53 of them were confirmed as HIV positive with a positive rate of 4.01%. The proportion of HIV positive rates was found to the highest in the male homosexual contacts (10.69%). The differences of HIV positive rates were statistically significant between clients with different educational levels (P<0.01). The positive rate was the highest for those with primary education (15.38%), followed by illiterate ones (10.53%). The differences of HIV positive rates were not statistically significant between clients with different gender, age, or marital status (P>0.05 for all). Conclusion VCT clinic is an effective way to identify HIV infection timely. Migrant men and MSM are key groups in Baoan VCT. It is necessary to improve the quality of VCT services to realize the purpose of the prevention and control of HIV transmission.

Objective To understand the characteristics, inherent law and false-positive rate of HIV-antibody detection in pregnant women so as to provide reference for intervention strategies of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Methods Retrospective analysis of re-inspection and confirmation was conducted for pregnant women who were HIV-antibody preliminary screening positive in Guangzhou City during 2004 to 2013. Results Amongst 808 samples for re-inspection, the coincidence rate of preliminary screening and re-inspection was 66.58%（538/808）, the coincidence rate of confirmation test was 59.48%（320/538), and the uncertain rate was 11.52%（62/538）. Of 62 uncertain samples, 45 were followed up and 3 of them were HIV-seroconversion with a conversion rate of 6.67%（3/45）. The samples with S/CO<4 were all confirmed negative. When the S/CO value was equal to or higher than 4, the samples turned to be positive. The positive rate increased with the increase of S/CO value. Conclusion The false positive rate was high in HIV antibody detection in pregnant women and the diagnoses of HIV infection should be considered with experiment results and epidemiological history information in maternal intervention.

Objective To understand the acceptability of female condom use and explore its influencing factors among HIV sero-discordant couples. Methods A prospective observational study was adopted to investigate the attitude, experience, and willingness to use female condom before and after 3 months among HIV sero-discordant couples in three cities of Shaoyang, Leshan, and Meishan through log records and questionnaire survey from May to December 2013. Results A total of 89 pairs of HIV sero-discordant couples were investigated. The mean age of HIV positive spouses and HIV negative spouses were (38.5±8.6) and (37.6±8.3) years, respectively. Of all the participants, 41.0% (73/178) had schooling level at junior middle school. The main job was the peasant (42.1%; 75/178) and the family income was between 2 000 and 2 999 Yuan (32.6%; 29/89). Among the couples, 66.3% (59/89) were husbands with HIV infection and 86.5% (77/89) were infected with HIV through heterosexual contact. Before enrollment of the study 44.9% (40/89) had sexual behaviors for 2-3 times a month, 86.5% (64/74) consistently used the condom in past 3 months before the study period. During the study period, 85.4% of them used 9 or more female condoms and 58.4% were willing to accept and continue to use the female condom after the study. Multivariate logistic regression showed that previous experience of compulsive sexual behavior (OR: 5.82), female spouse infected with HIV (OR: 3.79), applying lubricant in the penis (OR: 3.57), fully understanding the techniques after training (OR: 3.315), marriage period of 20 years or more (OR: 2.85),and experience of negative event when using the female condom for the first time (OR:7.14)were the independent positive factors influencing the willingness to use the female condom. Conclusion HIV sero-discordant couples have a certain degree of willingness to accept female condom. The female condom can be taken as an effective measure to prevent the spread of HIV among discordant couples.

Objective To analyze the care needs of HIV/AIDS on AIDS-related health information, emotional support, and health care assurance to provide the basis for the development of HIV/AIDS care and support policies. Methods A self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate individuals living with HIV/AIDS who could be tracked in Zhuhai. The survey contents included demographic information, route of infection, detection and treatment, and demands for HIV/AIDS-related health information, emotional support, and medical insurance. Results A total of 436 HIV/AIDS cases were investigated and their average age was （36.9±10.7）years. Among all the cases, 75.0% were male, 36.7% had educational level at the junior middle school, 68.8% had average monthly gross income ≤3 000 Yuan, and 74.8% were incumbent; 44.0% were infected through heterosexual transmission, 75.7% had accepted the antiretroviral therapy, 40.1% had a better understanding of HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge, 20.4% had the knowledge of psychological decompression, 19.3% knew the knowledge of HIV/AIDS treatment and medicines, 15.8% understood nutrition knowledge, 13.1% knew about social medical insurance policy; 49.5% obtained related information through consulting physicians and 38.1% through visiting the internet, and there were significant differences in the ways to obtain the information for HIV/AIDS cases in different routes of infection and different residence (P<0.01 for all); 59.9% hoped to get the support from their families, and the proportions that the cases could get family support were different from different routes of transmission (P<0.01); 68.6% participated in social medical insurance, and the percentage that the quality of life was negatively affected in persons who participated in social medical insurance was lower than that in cases who did not (36.5% ［109/299］ vs. 48.2% ［66/137］; P<0.01). Conclusion People living with HIV/AIDS knew less about the HIV/AIDS-related health information and many factors influenced their care demands for HIV/AIDS-related health information, emotional support, and health care assurance. Care service should be provided for them based on the demands assessment.

Objective To understand the cognition of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and high risk behaviors among urban residents in Gaozhou City. Methods Multistage sampling method was adopted to investigate the HIV/AIDS related knowledge, behaviors, and attitude among urban residents in Gaozhou. Data were analyzed by using descriptive epidemiology method. Results A total of 1 050 urban residents were investigated and 1 048 valid questionnaires were recovered, including 704 men and 344 women. Their average age was 31 years. The overall awareness rate of HIV/AIDS related knowledge was 61.45% (9 660/15 720 questions). The awareness rates were 19.5% (204/1 048) for sharing tableware with AIDS patients and 21.0% (220/1 048) for sharing toilets and bathroom supplies. Among the respondents, 93.5%（979/1 048）had sexual contact; 5.6% (55/979) had commercial sex behavior in the past year; only 6.1%（60/979) often used condoms; 67.6%（662/979) have never used condoms; 16.8%（176/1 048） thought HIV/AIDS prevention and control was closely related with themselves; 16.8%（176/1 048） thought that it was necessary to understand HIV/AIDS related knowledge; 3.8%（40/1 048）thought that only the immoral persons would get HIV/AIDS; 57.2%（599/1 048）thought that the HIV-infected persons and patients with AIDS should be isolated from healthy people. The residents with high educational level,females, and high family economic income had higher awareness of HIV/AIDS related knowledge （P<0.01 for all）. Conclusion The cognition degree of HIV/AIDS related knowledge is low among the urban residents in Gaozhou. The existing high-risk behavior still cannot be ignored. The propaganda of HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge and high-risk behavior intervention should be further strengthened.

Objective To explore a suitable method for detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in pig liver sample by TaqMan real time RT-PCR method. Methods Two methods, homogenized direct extraction method (Method A) and polyethylene glycol precipitation method (Method B), were used for concentration of HEV from swine liver samples. Based on the specific primers and probes of the four genotypes of HEV, a TaqMan real-time RT-PCR method was developed and its accuracy and sensitivity were evaluated. Real time RT-PCR was used to detect HEV from swine livers with induced infection of HEV. Performances of the two methods were compared. Results The established TaqMan real-time RT-PCR standard curve showed a good linear relationship in range of 102 - 108 copies/μL. The correlation coefficient (R2) of the standard curves with plasmid DNA was 0.999. The coefficients of variation values of the different diluted plasmid DNA were detected between 0.11% and 2.47% and between 6.62% and 2.69% in the same or different repeated experimental groups. The efficiency of Method A and Method B was similar with a detection limit of 102 copies/μL. Conclusion The TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay was established with high sensitivity, good stability and strong specificity, suitable for quantitative detection of HEV. The homogenized direct extraction method is more rapid for HEV concentration from swine livers and suitable for long-term surveillance of HEV.

Objective To develop a simple, quick, and accurate detection method for distinguishing hogwash oil from raw vegetable. Methods Testing samples included 106 raw vegetable oils in 10 categories and 11 batches of refined hogwash oils. The Raman spectra were scanned to compare the morphology and acquire the first derivatives, including the lower limit value for each kind of raw vegetable oils to establish steps of the method. The accuracy was evaluated by detecting 234 mixture samples. Results There was morphology of smooth bulk peak in all refined hogwash oils, and the 2 839 cm-1 peak values were negative for the first derivatives. The ratios of peak 2 944 to 2 839 cm-1 were between -0.851 and -3.015. The accuracies for the mixtures with 10% and 20% hogwash oil were 80% and 100%, respectively. ConclusionRaman spectra of hogwash oil and raw plant oil were significantly different and can be used as reference for distinguishing between them.