China plans to establish an AIDS and venereal disease (VD) prevention and control system in an effort to curb the spread of the HIV virus via blood-supply channels, and keep the annual VD growth rate under 15 percent.

Liu Kangmai, assistant to the director of the AIDS Prevention and Control Center of the Ministry of Health, revealed the plan, which was adopted at a national conference on AIDS and venereal disease education held recently in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Liu said that under the plan, China expects to curb the spread of HIV virus among drug-addicts by the year 2002 and lower the annual incidence of venereal disease over the next 10 years.

The AIDS prevention system will consist of an AIDS monitoring network, a blood examination system, and a training center for medical personnel.

According to the plan, all hospitals in major cities and AIDS-plagued areas are called on to improve their AIDS treatment and consultations, and their professional training.

The plan also calls for extensive education on the prevention of AIDS and venereal disease in high schools and secondary vocational schools throughout the country.

China had 15,088 reported HIV cases by the end of September last year, with 477 full-blown AIDS patients, 240 of whom died.

However, experts estimate that there are more than 400,000 HIV carriers in China.

Compared to the global figure of 50 million total AIDS patients and HIV carriers, China is still regarded as a low-infection area. Nevertheless, experts warn that if effective measures are not taken, China may be devastated by the disease in the new century, with the number of HIV carriers skyrocketing to 10 million in China.