HIV/AIDS cases in Yunnan exceeds 100,000

KUNMING - Southwest China's Yunnan Province has logged more than 100,000 cases of HIV/AIDS since it began taking records of the condition, the chief of local AIDS watchdog told Xinhua on Tuesday.

As of the end of October, a majority of new HIV/AIDS cases in Yunnan are farmers and the unemployed, according to Xu Heping, head of the Yunnan Provincial AIDS Prevention Bureau.

Xu said the proportion of HIV/AIDS infections through sex has been increasing in the province, where the spread of the pandemic remains stable in most regions.

"As of October 31, Yunnan has reported 10,447 new cases of HIV/AIDS and 2,411 HIV/AIDS-related deaths this year," the official added.

Xu said six cities and prefectures, including Dehong, Honghe, Lincang, Wenshan, Dali and Kunming, Yunnan's capital, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the total HIV/AIDS cases reported in the province.

He said that over 51 percent of HIV/AIDS infections in Yunnan were through sex and nearly 40 percent were through drug use.

Yunnan reports more HIV/AIDS cases than any other in China. The province began taking records of HIV/AIDS cases in the 1980s.

By the end of 2011, about 780,000 people were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in China, while 434,000 were unsure of their condition.