After a high-risk exposure, get an HIV test; China's CDC testing is free and confidential
HIV testing at a Chinese CDC is free. China's testing-management rules prohibit staff from disclosing your name, address or results. A diagnosis is not a death sentence: people who consistently take treatment and maintain an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV to sexual partners. A study of over 700 couples and more than 70,000 acts of condomless sex found no within-couple transmission.
What it takes
Free. Visit a CDC office or designated medical institution for a blood draw. Taking the first step to request testing can be the hardest part.
What you may gain
China's AIDS Prevention and Treatment Regulations provide for voluntary counseling and testing, with free counseling and initial screening at designated institutions. Early diagnosis matters because antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus below detection. WHO states that people receiving antiretroviral treatment with an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV sexually. PARTNER followed 782 male same-sex couples with different HIV statuses for 1,593 couple-years, the sum of each couple's follow-up time. Across 76,088 acts of condomless sex, 15 new infections occurred. Phylogenetic comparison of viral genomes showed none came from the study partner: within-couple transmission was zero. China's national HIV-testing management rules prohibit laboratory staff from disclosing patients' names, addresses, test results or related information.
Context & considerations
The window period determines when a test is informative. Guangdong CDC gives approximate detectability at 1 week for nucleic-acid tests, 2 weeks for fourth-generation antigen/antibody tests and 3 weeks for third-generation antibody tests. It recommends testing after at least 2 weeks and repeating after another 2–4 weeks. At 3 months after the last high-risk exposure, it states that infection can be ruled out in over 99.99% of cases. A positive self-test is not a diagnosis; obtain confirmation at a CDC or recognized medical institution. Article 3 prohibits discrimination against people with HIV and their families and protects marriage, employment, medical care and education rights. Article 38 also requires people with HIV to promptly inform sexual partners of their infection or illness. See Chapter 27 for pregnancy screening for three infections and prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
Research & references
Ministry of Health of China (2006). National Measures for the Management of HIV Testing. https://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2006-06/27/content_320458.htm ; State Council of China (2006). Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Treatment, Articles 3, 23 and 38. https://wjw.beijing.gov.cn/zwgk_20040/zcwj2022/flfg/202304/t20230408_2992986.html (reproduced by Beijing's Health Commission); Rodger AJ, Cambiano V, Bruun T, et al. (2019). Risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex in serodifferent gay couples with the HIV-positive partner taking suppressive antiretroviral therapy (PARTNER): final results of a multicentre, prospective, observational study. The Lancet, 393(10189), 2428-2438. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30418-0 ; Guangdong Provincial CDC. Public guidance on the HIV testing window period. https://cdcp.gd.gov.cn/jkjy/kpydjwjxz/content/post_3441820.html (the window-period figures).