Chinese Province Launches Country’s First Survey on HIV Among MSM Aimed at Prevention, Control

China's Heilongjiang province has launched the country's first survey aimed at studying the proportion of HIV-positive men who have sex with men to HIV-negative MSM in the region, China's People's Daily reports. The survey was launched in April as part of a five-year joint program between the country's Ministry of Health and the U.S. HHS, according to Wu Yuhua, deputy head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Heilongjiang province (People's Daily, 7/26). Heilongjiang's CDC has collected 1,300 Internet-based questionnaires in cooperation with www.aixinsky.com -- a Web site dedicated to HIV/AIDS issues (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/26). The provincial government teamed up with the Web site because it was difficult to find survey participants who were willing to discuss homosexuality and HIV openly, according to BBC News (BBC News, 7/26). The province also has collected 270 urine and 50 blood samples from MSM in the region (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/26). According to Wu, the data obtained from the surveys will be an "important reference" for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in China, according to the People's Daily. People who test positive in the program will be provided with treatment. Heilongjiang is one of 10 provinces in the country taking part in the program, but is the only region to establish a monitoring program on MSM and HIV/AIDS (People's Daily, 7/26).