An Index-Contact Paired Data Analysis on Sexual Contact Tracing Outcomes of HIV-Infected Individuals - Yunnan Province, China, 2022-2024.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: A substantial proportion of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) remain unaware of their infection status. Contact tracing serves as an effective public health tool for identifying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and supports progress toward achieving the 95-95-95-95 goals.

WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: An egocentric contact tracing study conducted in Yunnan, China, between January 2022 and June 2024 enrolled 1,981 index cases, of whom 314 (15.9%) had at least 1 HIV-positive sexual contact. These index cases reported 2,171 sexual contacts, with 1,509 (69.5%) receiving HIV testing and 317 (21.0%) testing positive. Higher education levels and employment status among sexual contacts were positively associated with HIV testing uptake. HIV infection was more likely among contacts when the index case was female and identified through active HIV testing. Long-term sexual partnerships and inconsistent condom use demonstrated elevated infection risk.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: The effectiveness of contact tracing outcomes is influenced by characteristics of both index cases and their sexual contacts. These factors should be incorporated into the design and implementation of sexual contact tracing programs.