HIV-1 in Taiwan

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 369; no. 9562; pp. 623 - 625
• Main Authors: Chen, Yi-Ming Arthur, Kuo, Steve Hsu-Sung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 24.02.2007; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adult; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - epidemiology; Bisexuality; Drug abuse; Drug use; Education; Female; Gays & lesbians; HIV; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - transmission; HIV Seropositivity - blood; HIV-1; Homosexuality; Homosexuality, Male - statistics & numerical data; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Incidence; Internal Medicine; Male; Methadone; Mortality; Population; Risk factors; Sex education; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - complications; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology; Syphilis; Taiwan - epidemiology; Taiwan
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60291-8

In Taiwan, HIV-1 infection rates in men who have sex with men in gay saunas in different cities currently range from 5.2% to 15.8%.10,11 The same population has high rates of syphilis, 8.1-13.8%, depending on the city.10,11 Taiwanese male homosexual and bisexual HIV-1/AIDS patients have also been diagnosed with significantly higher rates of syphilis than have heterosexual patients.12 Furthermore, the percentage of homosexual or bisexual H1V-1/AIDS patients under the age of 20 years is significantly higher than that of heterosexual patients, 30% versus 1.7%.12 In addition to the stigmatisation of homosexuality in Taiwanese society, the lack of accurate information on homosexuality in sex education and on risk factors in AIDS education increases the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections within the country's population of men who have sex with men.