Objectives: To understand genital ulcer disease(GUD) among patients attending sexually transmitteddisease (STD) clinics in Guangzhou, China, and itsassociation with HIV infection.Methods: Between September 9th, 1997 and Octo-ber 30th, 2002, 8 962 patients with STDs wereevaluated. 285 patients were diagnosed with GUD basedon clinical manifestations and microbiologic evalua-tions including dark field microscopy and serologytest for syphilis (RPR, TPPA). Swabs of each genitalulcer were processed in a multiplex PCR assay (M-PCR) for simultaneous detection of Herpes simplexvirus (HSV), Treponema pallium, and Haemophilusducreyi. Other STDs were classified by routine diag-nostic criteria, including microscopy or culture forNeisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis,Urea- plasma urealyticum, Human papillomavirus,Trichomonas, etc.Results: Of the 8 962 patients with STDs, the HIVseroprevalence in patients with and without GUD was1.75% (5/285) and 1.53% (133/8677), respectively,with no statistically significant difference (χ 2=0.09,P>0.05; OR=1.15, 95%CI=0.47-2.81) . HIVseroprevalence in patients with syphilis, genital her-pes and other STDs was 2.81% (22/784), 0.74% (6/814) and 1.49% (110/7 364), respectively. Prevalencein patients with syphilis was significantly higher thanthat in patients with genital herpes and other STDs,(χ 2=9.92, P<0.005, OR=3.89, 95%CI=1.67-9.05;χ 2=7.66, P<0.001, OR=1.90, 95%CI=1.21-3.00).Conclusions: The study shows that the HIV sero-prevalence in this population of patients with GUDis very low. The results also indicate an associationbetween syphilis and HIV infection. The relationshipbetween genital herpes and HIV infection needsfurther research.
