Objective: To describe the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical manifestations of 59 persons recruited via an internet chat group who complained of AIDS-like symptoms, so as to formulate effective intervention strategies and measures.
Methods: Case was defined as onset of any three of the following self-reported AIDS-like symptoms in a member of relevant "internet chat groups": persistent low grade fever, rash, swollen lymph node, fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss and low CD4(+)T count. We administered an internet-based questionnaire, and invited 59 of the 88 case-persons for voluntary physical examination and laboratory testing.
Results: The 59 case-persons came from 22 provinces; 54 (91.5%) were men; the median age was 34 (range: 22-53) years; 84.7% of them had high-risk sexual behaviors before the onset of self-reported symptoms. The median time interval from exposure to onset was 15 d (range: 1-365 d). Blood specimens for all the 59 case-persons were tested negative for HIV and syphilis antibodies. There was also no evidence of Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus infection. One case-person was tested positive for hepatitis C virus antibody. The average CD4(+)T lymphocyte count was 707/µl. Of the 59 case-persons, 57 (96.6%) sought medical care from multiple providers; 40 were diagnosed to have no physical disorders.
Conclusion: None of the 59 case-persons had any evidence of infection with HIV or any other infectious agents that could explain their self-reported symptoms.