‘Sex’ – it’s not only women’s work: a case for refocusing on the functional role that sex plays in work for both women and men

Mention of the term sex work often invokes images of marginalized women at risk for HIV infection. Such images, however, are counterintuitive to the functional role intended by the movement that spawned use of the terms ‘sex work’ and ‘sex worker.’ This article looks at the sexual practices of men in urban China to argue for a return to a functional definition of ‘sex work’, which was originally meant to legitimize the role sex plays in work. The progenitors of this movement intended to use ‘sex work’ as a means to legitimize sex as an income-generating activity for women involved in prostitution. I show that sex can also serve a functional role in the work-related duties of men seeking economic and political success in contemporary urban China. Men in China utilize sex as one way for demonstrating the loyalty necessary to access state-owned and controlled resources in a market economy governed under a Leninist system. Overall, the article demonstrates that reclaiming perception of sex work as a functional rather than behavioral category can expand its use for preventing HIV among the broad subset of people who engage in sex as part of their work.     

HIV-negative children’s experiences and opinions towards parental HIV disclosure: a qualitative study in China

In HIV/AIDS research, few studies to date have evaluated ways to improve parental HIV disclosure practices using feedback from HIV-negative children who have recently experienced this event. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 children (aged 6–15) who were partially to fully aware of their parents’ HIV status in rural Guangxi, China. Of the 20 children, eight children who were of older age (11.38 years in average) endorsed parental HIV disclosure, five discouraged it and seven expressed uncertainty. Children’s different experiences and attitudes towards disclosure were seen to be associated with their family dynamics (especially the parent–child relationship), social support and care, experiences of stigma and discrimination, psychosocial suffering, comprehension of the disease and the children’s age. Our study contributes to building a child-centered comprehensive understanding for Chinese parental HIV disclosure. It is imperative that counselors and community advocates assess and help parents achieve optimal readiness preceding disclosure of their illness to their HIV-negative children.     

Association of socioeconomic factors and prevalence of hypertension with sleep disorder among the elderly in rural southwest China

ObjectivesThis study examines the distribution of sleep disorder prevalence across socioeconomic status (SES) and investigates the relationship between sleep disorders and hypertension among southwest China's rural older adult population.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in rural Yunnan Province, China from 2017 to 2018, consisting of 4833 consenting participants aged ≥60 years. Each participant completed a structured interview and had their blood pressure measured. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Multivariate logistic regression was used to model variations in prevalence of sleep disorders and hypertension.ResultsIn the study population, the prevalence rates of sleep disorders and hypertension were 46.5% and 50.3%, respectively. Women had higher prevalence of both chronic illnesses (53.4% vs. 38.7%, 53.1% vs. 47.6%, P < 0.01). After adjusting for age, sex, and residential status, older adults of minority ethnicity had a higher prevalence of sleep disorders than the Han ethnic majority (P < 0.01). Attainment of higher levels of education and lower annual household income were also associated with a greater risk of sleep disorders (P < 0.01). Further, logistic regression analysis indicated that older adults with sleep disorders had a greater risk of being hypertensive (P < 0.01).ConclusionsSleep disorders are highly prevalent in rural southwest China. Future interventions to improve sleep quality would benefit from tailoring to address individual SES. Improving sleep quality profoundly reduces prevalence of hypertension.     

云南省最后一例本地感染疟疾病例报告

报道2016年4月17日由云南省德宏州盈江县疾病预防控制中心通过国家疾病监测信息报告管理系统网络直报,并被确定为云南省最后一例本地感染间日疟病例的诊断、治疗、流行病学调查、疫点处置及后续追踪等相关情况,为云南省到达消除疟疾目标提供充分有力的证据。患者王某某,男,3岁,散居儿童,居住在云南省德宏州盈江县太平镇龙盆村龙盆一社。父亲是农民,母亲是当地村医,父母表示患儿从出生至今无到过缅甸或本省、本县其他高疟区的流动居住史。因发冷、发热、出汗5 d,于2016年4月15日到盈江县疾控中心就诊,疟原虫抗原快速诊断试剂（RDT）检测阳性,血涂片镜检检出单纯间日疟原虫,经盈江县和德宏州两级镜检复核确认为间日疟。后省级疟疾诊断参比实验室镜检和疟原虫核酸（PCR）复核确认为间日疟。在2016年4月18日—2019年12月31日,在疫点处置后开展8次主动病例侦查进行纵向追踪,共血检588人次,未发现阳性。2016年6—9月开展2次媒介调查,未捕获传疟媒介。同时对全省报告的1 032例和外省报告的7例云南籍病例的流行病学个案调查资料及实验室检测结果进行审查和复核,均排除本地感染,对全省开展的6 105次各级的消除疟疾工作督导检查,均未发现病例的漏报、瞒报和漏诊现象,抽检复核 5 251张阴性血片,阴性符合率100%。根据《中国消除疟疾行动计划（2010—2020）》和《消除疟疾技术方案》病例和疫点分类标准,最终判定该病例为云南省最后一例本地感染间日疟病例。2019年10月,国家消除疟疾专家组在云南省昆明市召开全国最后一例本地感染疟疾病例研讨会,确认该病例为中国最后一例本地感染疟疾病例。     

First report of Neospora caninum infection in pigs in China

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite which can infect many mammals and birds with a worldwide distribution. However, no molecular data are available about the occurrence of N. caninum in pigs. In this study, the serological and molecular prevalence of N. caninum infection in farmed pigs were investigated in Hunan province, China, between January 2017 and December 2018. A total of 1,500 serum samples collected from 10 herds in Hunan province were evaluated using a competitive‐inhibition enzyme‐linked immunoassay assay (cELISA). The overall seroprevalence of N. caninum in the examined pigs was 1.9%. The seroprevalence of N. caninum ranged from 0.3% to 4.6% among different regions in Hunan province of China (p < .05). DNA was extracted from brain samples, and the Nc‐5 gene and ITS‐1 region were amplified and then sequenced. Three (0.5%) of the examined 600 brain tissues were found to contain N. caninum DNA. Our phylogenetic analyses indicated that N. caninum samples were classified into two distinct groups. Although the prevalence is low within the pig groups investigated, our results revealed the emergence of N. caninum infection in pigs in China. The finding of the present study provides molecular evidence that the pigs are the natural intermediate host of N. caninum and may have major epidemiological importance.