HIV/AIDS Cases In China Increased By 3,000 Monthly From January 2006 To June 2007, Official Says

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 08 Nov 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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The number of HIV/AIDS cases on mainland China increased by an average of 3,000 monthly between January 2006 and June 2007, Wang Ning, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday, China Daily reports.

Wang added that 32,235 new HIV/AIDS cases have been recorded so far this year and that about 3,000 people have died of AIDS-related causes since January. At the end of June, HIV/AIDS cases had been reported in 74% of counties throughout China. Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Xinjiang and Yunnan provinces accounted for 76% of all HIV/AIDS cases nationwide, while Anhui, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei and Yunnan provinces accounted for 83% of all AIDS cases nationwide, China Daily reports (Chen, China Daily, 11/6).

About 38% of new HIV diagnoses were transmitted sexually, an increase of 30% from last year, Wang said (Reuters, 11/5). In addition, about 3% of new cases were transmitted among men who have sex with men. Although the number of new HIV/AIDS cases among high-risk groups, such as injection drug users and commercial sex workers, has decreased, the general population is at higher risk, in part because of risky sexual behaviors, Wang added (China Daily, 11/6).

About 220,000 people nationwide were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of September, and 25% of those had developed AIDS, Wang said. UNAIDS has estimated that about 650,000 people in China are living with HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports (Reuters, 11/5).

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