Drug use drives HIV infections to 135,630 (Xinhua) Updated: 2005-11-29 08:54
China had an cumulative 135,630 cases of reported HIV infections by the end
of September, Vice Health Minister Wang Longde said yesterday.
An AIDS billboard in
Beijing. China plans to set up a national database containing the records
of its HIV/AIDS victims in a bid to get a better grip of the extent of the
epidemic. [AFP/file] | Wang said the
statistics "indicate that the disease is spreading from high-risk groups to
ordinary people, and that China is in a critical period for AIDS prevention."
The reported HIV cases involve 31,143 AIDS patients and 7,773 fatalities.
Experts estimate the officially recorded cases only account for some 12.7
percent of the actual infection number, which means that China now has about
840,000 HIV carriers including some 80,000 AIDS patients.
The five provinces and autonomous regions of Yunnan, Henan, Xinjiang, Guangxi
and Guangdong reported more than 10,000 cases each, accounting for 77 percent of
the country's total, Wang told a national tele-conference on HIV/AIDS prevention
and control.
Drug abuse is still the main cause of HIV infection, blamed for 40.8 percent
of the total infections, while illegal blood selling caused 23 percent and
unprotected sex caused 9.0 percent. Infections through unknown channels account
for 23.4 percent.
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