Number of HIV Carriers Hit 850,000 in China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 12, 2002

Number of HIV Carriers Hit 850,000 in China

HIV/AIDS experts at China's national center for disease control and prevention estimated that the actual figure of HIV/AIDS cases in the 1.3-billion people country might have reached 850,000 by the end of the year 2001 as the level of discovery remains low. The number of AIDS patients alone might have reached 200,000.

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About 850,000 people in China could be infected by the AIDS virus, and the number of those who have died from the disease might stand at between 100,000 and 120,000, according to China's public health authorities.

Qi Xiaoqiu, of the Ministry of Health (MOH), announced on Thursday that 30,736 people had been confirmed as HIV carriers by the end of last year, of whom 1,594 had full-blown AIDS and 684 had died.

However, Qi quoted HIV/AIDS experts at China's national center for disease control and prevention as estimating that the actual figure of HIV/AIDS cases among China's 1.3-billion people might have reached 850,000 as the level of discovery remained low.

The latest figure was a 40 percent jump from early estimates and the MOH official said it should be a "true reflection" of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.

"The estimation is made on the basis of comprehensive analysis of case reports all over the country, medical studies, and resultsof surveillance among people with high-risk behavior such as drug users and prostitutes," said Qi, who is in charge of disease control.

The number of AIDS sufferers might have reached 200,000. Only 80,000 and 100,000 of them could be still alive, hiding themselvesin fear of discrimination and unable to afford AIDS drugs.

The spread of HIV/AIDS across the world's most populous countryhas been quickening since the deadly disease was first detected here in 1985.

In the 2000-2001 period alone, confirmed cases rose at a rate of 40 percent.

The World Health Organization had warned that China could have over 10 million HIV carriers by the year 2010 if the annual increase stayed at 30 percent.

Although China has implemented a national plan to keep the increase rate below 10 percent by 2010, health officials now worrythat the goal may not be achieved easily.

"We will have great difficulties (reaching the goal) if the rate remains high," said Sun Xinhua, another MOH official.

Sun said the Chinese government was still in negotiation with several leading producers of AIDS drugs in order to further cut drug prices.

Western pharmaceutical companies including Merck had agreed to drop drug prices in China late last year, bringing the average cost of the cocktail treatment to 30,000-40,000 yuan (about 3,600-4,800 U.S. dollars) per person each year from 80,000-90,000 yuan (9,600-10,800 dollars) previously.

"But it is still too high for most patients," Sun said.

Moreover, the health ministry was working with relevant governmental bodies to try new methods, such as providing clean needles to drug users, and making condoms more accessible in communities, which seemed almost impossible under current policies.

Sharing of needles among intravenous drug users caused 68 percent of confirmed HIV cases, while blood collecting and transfusion through unclean methods was responsible for 9.7 percent of HIV infections. Some 7.2 percent of HIV carriers were victims of unsafe sex, according to the ministry.

Out of every ten HIV-positive people, eight are male, and abouthalf are aged between 20 and 29, reflecting the fact that the worst-affected people are young and productive.

In contrast with the underdeveloped west of China where most HIV/AIDS people are drug users, big cities in the affluent east find more AIDS patients among prostitutes and sufferers of sexually transmitted diseases.

Statistics: HIV-positive People in China Surpass 600,000 by Last Yearend

Accumulated number of confirmed HIV/AIDS cases in China registered 26,058 by the end of June, this year, a senior health official told the press in Beijing on Thursday.

Yin Dakui, vice minister of Health, also said the total number of HIV-positive people was estimated to surpass 600,000 at the end of last year.

Since the disease was for the first time discovered in China in 1985, 584 patients have died, he said.

Statistics released at an on-going press conference also indicated that intravenous drug use is the leading cause of HIV/ AIDS spread in the world's most populous country, followed by sexual contact and the mother-infant transmission.

People aged between 15 and 49 are most vulnerable to the attack of the AIDS virus.

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