City hospitals are dealing with an increasing number of patients
requiring check-ups for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the
run-up to
Spring Festival.
Doctors believe many of the patients are migrant workers, who
want a check-up before returning home to their spouses for the
holiday.
They say many migrant workers, who spend long periods of time
away from their wives or husbands, often engage in extra-marital
sex.
"Around seven to eight people are coming to have venereal
disease check-ups each day, up from the usual two to three cases a
day," said Lu Haoqiang, of the First Affiliated Hospital at
Guangzhou Medical College.
There have also been an increase in the number of patients at
other hospitals in the city, capital of south China's Guangdong
Province, according to a report in the city-based Information
Times.
Lu said most patients are migrant workers who are returning home
for Spring Festival.
Millions of men and women from other parts of the country work
in Guangzhou, far away from their spouses.
Due to difficulties involved in having sex with their wives,
some workers visit prostitutes to satisfy their desires, Lu
said.
And many of these workers are worried that their sexual
activities may have left them with an STD, which they could then
pass on to their wives or husbands.
One male migrant worker, 32, from southwestern Sichuan Province,
went for a check-up, reported the Information Times. He told
the newspaper he visited prostitutes once a month, even though he
regrets his behavior. "Desire forces me to do it again and again,"
he said.
Because he is poor, he is worried he might not be able to afford
the huge cost of medical treatment if he becomes infected.
He is also scared about spreading the disease to his wife when
he returns home. That is why he went for a hospital
examination.
Lu said most of his patients had not been infected, but the
check-ups eased their worries. Some of them even take the results
home to show their wives.
Lu added that there was also an increasing number of local men
visiting his hospital for an STD check-up when they return to
Guangzhou following business trips.
"I'm glad to see that more and more people are having check-ups
on their own initiative," Li Jihong, executive director of
Guangdong Sex Study Society, told China Daily.
She added that the phenomenon shows more people, especially
migrant workers who usually have relatively low educational
backgrounds, are aware of the problems that can result from their
sexual behavior.
(China Daily January 16, 2006)