Nearly a quarter of China gays have 100 partners and no AIDS knowledge

Wed Dec 15, 3:46 AM ET   Health - AFP

BEIJING, (AFP) - Almost a quarter of China's gay men have more than 100
partners with about 80 percent of them admitting to total ignorance about
HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites), state media reported.

The results were shown in the country's first survey of its gay population,
conducted by the center of AIDS control and prevention under the Chinese
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).

It showed more than 50 percent of China's estimated five to 10 million gay
men have more than one male sex partner, 31.7 percent have one to 10
partners and 22.2 percent have more than 100, the Xinhua news agency said.

Lu Fan, chief of the center of AIDS control and prevention, said among
sexually active Chinese men aged 15 to 49, about two to four percent were
gay and as many as 1.35 percent were infected with the AIDS virus.

He said the survey showed more than 80 percent of gays were totally ignorant
of their exposure to the virus and practiced unprotected sex with multiple
partners.

"The gay community is one of the most vulnerable groups, but they have long
been ignored in China," he said.

The survey showed 17.4 percent of gay men also had female partners and 12.6
percent of them were married, increasing the likelihood HIV/AIDS would
spread,

The survey was conducted in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province.

Xinhua did not specify how many people were questioned. Information was
largely collected from pubs, parks, public bathrooms, squares and cyber
cafes.

Lu and other experts cited by Xinhua urged public health authorities and the
general public to adopt more balanced attitudes toward homosexuals and make
HIV/AIDS knowledge more available.

Many gays in China shy away from revealing their sexual preference for fear
of discrimination.

International organisations have warned China faces a potentially
catastrophic situation if more is not done to tackle AIDS and educate the
public.