Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Wednesday, October 16, 1996.
Chen Minzhang said a drastic increase in sexually transmitted diseases, illegal blood banks, a huge migrant population and high rates of AIDS in neighboring countries may also increase the number of cases in China.
"Now is the prime time for prevention and control of HIV infection -- it could be the last chance," the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Chen as saying. "We have no time to waste."
Chen's comments were unusually forthcoming for the Chinese government, which long treated AIDS as a foreigners' disease.
His comments were echoed in part by Peng Peiyun, a member of the State Council, or Cabinet, who said "the whole of society" should help combat AIDS, Xinhua reported.
Peng spoke at a national conference where health experts warned that the world's most populous nation will see cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, "spinning out of control if preventive measures are not taken immediately."
By the end of August, China had 4,305 reported cases of HIV infection, Xinhua said. That compared with 3,341 cases reported at the end of 1995.
Experts believe the real number is much higher. Xinhua cited figures of between 50,000 and 100,000.
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