Incidents of HIV infection and HIV drug-resistance among foreigners in Guangzhou city

Objective To examine incident characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and HIV drug-resistance among foreigners in Guangzhou city.Methods Information about foreigners infected with HIV reported from 1990 through 2013 and the data on HIV drug-resistance in foreign HIV infection cases initially identified during 2008 and 2010 were collected and analyzed.Results A total of 644 HIV positive foreigners were reported in Guangzhou during a 24-year period;62.9%of the cases were males and the average age of the cases were 37.3 years;more than one-third (36.6%) of the cases were from Africa.Though the majority of the cases presenting no AIDS symptoms,the proportions of clinic AIDS increased among the reported cases during the period.The prevalence of resistance to any anti-HIV drug was 23.33%among the newly confirmed HIV positive foreigners from 2008 to 2010 and the proportion of nelfinavir resistance was the highest.Conclusion Surveillance on HIV infection should be enhanced among foreigners in Guangzhou city for the control of HIV epidemic and transmission of drug-resistant HIV strains.