Risk Factors and Interventions for HIV Control in China

Abstract

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the human immunodefiency virus (HIV) and has been recognized as a major public health problem for many years. At the end of 2012, approximately 34 million people were living with HIV globally. The worldwide prevalence is approximately 0.8% in adults aged 15- 49 years. The burden of the epidemic varies considerably between countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most severely affected area (Figure 1.1), with a prevalence of about 5% in adults and accounting for 69% of all people with HIV infection worldwide.2 With 48,000 new HIV cases in the year 2011, it is estimated that there are 780,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China nowadays. HIV was first identified by Luc Montagnier in 1983.