Nearly a million people in China are living with HIV according to new figures released to coincide with World AIDS Day at the start of the month.
Around 131,000 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in China between January and October this year, according to a progress report published Saturday on the website of the country’s main disease control and prevention body.
The government report said that 958,000 people in China lived with HIV, as of Oct. 31, compared with 861,042 people at the end of 2018.
China has recorded rising numbers of new HIV cases over the last decade which as lead to efforts to ramp up testing and treatment options for the world’s most populous country.
So far this year the country has conducted some 230 million individual HIV tests, and the government has reported that most people who have tested positive and now receiving treatment.
While previously a significant number of new transmissions in China were via pregnancy or sharing needles, the large majority of cases now occur through sexual transmission. Of the new cases recorded from January through October, 73.7% were spread via heterosexual sex and 23% via sex between men, according to the report.
Read more on the issue at Caixing Global.
OIP Staff
