Gay sex drives up China's HIV/AIDS infections

A rise in new cases of HIV/AIDS infections through gay sex was reported in China.

HIV transmissions among MSM (men having sex with men) accounted for 25 percent of China's total reported new infections during the first eight months this year, according to Wang Ning, deputy head of the HIV/AIDS division of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The figure was 19 percent in 2012.

The transmission channel for the disease has changed in recent years. Between 1985 and 2005, infections were mainly attributed to intravenous drug use and illegal blood collecting and supply. Sexual transmission only took up around 10 percent, Wang said.8 But in 2012, about 87 percent of patients were infected through sex contact. The figure rose to more than 90 percent from January to August 2014, he said.

MSM have been recognized worldwide as one of the three groups most vulnerable to HIV infections, along with sex workers and drug users. In China, about 80 percent of MSM are married, which means the disease may also spread to their spouses.