Number of HIV Infections Rising in China; One Million Chinese Infected With Virus Since 1985

One million Chinese people have contracted HIV since the country's first HIV/AIDS case was reported in 1985, the Xinhua News Agency reports. Beijing Youth Daily yesterday quoted the Chinese Ministry of Health as saying that the number of HIV infections in China reported in the first six months of 2002 increased by 16.7% over the number of infections reported in the same period last year. The ministry added, however, that the rate of increase has slowed. Approximately 70% of HIV infections were contracted through injection drug use, but the number of people who contracted the virus through sexual transmission has risen each year (Xinhua News Agency, 11/19).