Objective  To establish an early diagnosis and testing platform for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposed infants in Yunnan province and to examine application efficiency of the platform for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PTMTCT) of AIDS.

  Methods  Relying on the National Regional Laboratory for early diagnosis of HIV-infected infants and the maternal and child healthcare network sponsored by Yunnan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, an early diagnosis and testing platform was established in Yunan province during 2015. The data on specimen detections for early infant diagnosis of HIV infection from 2015 to 2018 in Yunnan province were retrieved and analyzed retrospectively.

  Results  During the 4-year′s operation of the established early diagnosis and testing platform for HIV-exposed infants, a decreasing trend was observed in the periods of specimen transportation, detection, result reporting, and from specimen submission to result reporting. In 2018, the period from specimen submission to detection result reporting was 8 days, being shorter than the national requirement for time limit of the detection. During 2015 – 2018, totally 7 819 specimens from 16 prefecture-level regions were detected and the overall HIV positive rate of the detected specimens was 1.82%, with the yearly positive rates of 3.03% (30/990), 1.76% (36/2 040), 1.64% (39/2 380), and 1.58% (38/2 409) for the year from 2015 to 2018, respectively. The number of specimens submitted to the platform increased but the HIV positive rate of the detected specimens decreased year by year. A significant regional difference was observed in HIV positive rate among the specimens detected (χ² = 45.603, P < 0.001).

  Conclusion  An early diagnosis and testing platform for HIV-exposed infants was established successfully in Yunan province and the operation of the platform was improved yearly and effectively. The HIV positive rate decreased among the HIV-exposed infants during 2015 – 2018 in the province.