The HIV/AIDS data from the national surveillance systems of China and the United States\nfrom 1985 to 2014 were compared to characterize the HIV/AIDS epidemic in both countries.\nThe current estimated national HIV prevalence rate in China and the United States are 0.0598%\nand 0.348%, respectively. In the United States, the annual number of new HIV infections has\nremained relatively stable (~50,000 each year) and has shown a downward trend in recent years.\nThe Chinese national HIV prevalence is still low, and new HIV infections have been contained at\na low level (50,000ââ?¬â??100,000 each year). However, the epidemic has showed an increasing trend\nsince 2012. By risk group, in both countries, men who have sex with men (MSM), heterosexual sex,\nand injection drug use (IDU) are the most common modes of transmission of new HIV infections.\nHowever, in the United States, MSM is the dominant transmission route, accounting for >60%\nof new infections; whereas in China, heterosexual sex has now become the dominant route, also\naccounting for >60% of new infections. A rapid increase in the proportion of HIV cases that were\nattributed to MSM and an obvious decrease in the proportion of HIV cases attributed to IDU in\nChina in recent years imply that the Chinaââ?¬â?¢s epidemic is still evolving, to some extent, copying\nwhat was experienced in the United States. By age group, the proportions of HIV cases that were\nattributed to the age group 25ââ?¬â??59 were comparable between the two countries. However, the United\nStates had a higher proportion of cases that were attributed to age groups 15ââ?¬â??19 and 20ââ?¬â??24 than\nChina, indicating that youth account for more infections in the United States. One other fact worth\nnoting: in China there is a significant increase in the number of HIV new infections in individuals\nover 50 years of age, which results in much higher proportion of cases that were attributed to\nage groups 60ââ?¬â??64 and over 65 in China than those in the United States. By race/ethnicity, in the\nUnited States, Blacks/African Americans continue to experience the most severe HIV burden,\nfollowed by Hispanics/Latinos. In China, no official data on race/ethnicity disparities are currently\navailable. Thus, region, risk group, age are important factors in the HIV epidemics in both countries.
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