HIV rate jumps 37 percent in China
Copyright c 1997 Nando.net
Copyright c 1997 Reuters
BEIJING (November 19, 1997 08:17 a.m. EST nando.net) -
The number of China's known cases of human
immunodeficiency virus jumped 37 percent in the first nine
months of 1997.
By the end of September, China had 8,277 reported cases of
HIV that causes AIDS, 2,237 more cases than at the beginning
of the year, the Xinhua news agency said Wednesday, quoting
the Ministry of Health.
The true figure was estimated to reach 150,000-200,000, the
agency said.
Among the reported cases, 77.5 percent were drug users, said
senior ministry official Wang Zhao.
China, grappling with growing prostitution and narcotics abuse
as market-oriented reforms weaken social controls, will hold an
HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in December to coincide with the
World AIDS Day at the beginning of that month.
AIDS was first reported in China in 1985.
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