 The discovery of the outbreak in Yunnan triggered a large increase in the number of reported cases as the disease rapidly spread among high-risk groups.The Yunnan outbreak forced health officials to reconsider aspects of Chinese HIV/AIDS policy, although efforts were still largely focused on policing drug use and prostitution.Social science research on previously taboo topics, including homosexuality, sex work, and drugs, began to proliferate during this period and served to inform policy that did not rely on a view of HIV/AIDS as an inherently Western problem.