A new method of diagnosing AIDS virus via testing on human immune cells known as CD4 passed appraisal by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission on Saturday.

Specialists on the appraisal panel said the new method is cheap and easily used, so it is of great significance for China to curb the fast spread of the disease.

The new method was developed by a group of scientists led by Cao Bo, an associate research fellow with the Central Laboratory attached to Xuhui District Central Hospital of Shanghai.

According to Cao, the CD4 human immune cell is the main cell targeted by HIV.

AIDS is spreading rapidly in China and the Chinese Ministry of Health said 1 million people have been diagnosed HIV positive since the first AIDS patient was reported in 1985.

HIV carriers in China now total 840,000, of whom 80,000 have developed AIDS.

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