HIV self-testing is a key measure and strategy to expand the coverage of HIV testing in key populations, which has great value in application and high acceptance in key populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued the Guidelines on HIV self-testing and partner notification in 2016 to support the application of HIV self-testing and provide specific guidance for countries and organizations to develop corresponding public health policies for the purpose of improving the accessibility and utilization of HIV diagnostics. HIV self-testing has been promoted in many countries and has achieved great results. This article provides an overview of the current domestic and international HIV self-testing policies, intervention models, the use of self-testing kits, the accuracy of self-testing kits, and the application of pre- and post-testing counseling services to provide reference for the further improvement of HIV self-testing in China.

Objective: To understand the situation of ticks carrying pathogens in border areas of Heilongjiang province. Methods: From 2009 to 2018, tick specimens were collected in Yichun, Daxing′anling area and Jiamusi in Heilongjiang province. A total of 2 530 ticks were studied, including 800 Ixodes persulcatus and 1 730 Dermacentor silvarum. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), omsk hemorrhagic fever virus (OHFV), langat virus (LGTV), powassan virus (POWV) were detected by real-time RT-PCR. Spotted fever group rickettsia (SFGR) and Borrelia burgdorferi sensulato (B.b.s.l) were detected by PCR in ticks collected from Jiamusi area. Results: All tick speciments collected were negative for TBEV, SFTSV, OHFV, LGTV and POWV. Tick specimens from Jiamusi carried SFGR and B. b.s.l.with positive rates of 59.5% and 8.9%. Conclusions The ticks in border areas of Heilongjiang province carry spotted fever group rickettsia and Borrelia burgdorferi, and the carrying rate of spotted fever group rickettsia is high. The monitoring and control of ticks and tick-borne diseases should be strengthened.