Associated Press - Tuesday September 22, 1998

Citing figures reported at a research conference on AIDS, Chinese officials said the number of cases of venereal disease had risen 40.53 percent in the first half of 1998 compared with the same period a year earlier.

In all of 1997, 461,510 cases of sexually transmitted diseases, including the HIV virus that causes AIDS, were reported in China, a 15.81 percent increase over the previous year, the report said. It did not provide more detailed statistics.

Rapid growth of China's sex industry since the 1970s has contributed to the swift spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the report said.

But it noted that illegal drug use was a more important cause for the increase in the number of HIV carriers, which rose to 10,676 nationwide by the end of June, a 22 percent increase from October 1997.

Of that number, 301 people had developed AIDS, the report said.

Two-thirds of the Chinese infected with HIV were thought to have acquired the virus through drug use, the report said. Many of the cases were concentrated in southwestern Yunnan, which borders major drug producing areas, and in northwestern Xinjiang and central Henan province.

The government has stepped up efforts to prevent the further spread of AIDS, hoping to limit the number of people found to be HIV positive to less than 1.5 million by 2010, the newspaper said.

In addition to increasing AIDS awareness through education, China has enacted legislation banning the sale of blood to donation centers, effective Oct. 1. About 40 percent of the blood collected in China for transfusions and other medical needs is purchased, often from people at the margins of society most at risk for AIDS, hepatitis and other diseases, the newspaper China Daily reported Thursday.

It said the quality of blood sold was often below standard.

Ahead of the implementation of the new blood law on Oct. 1, the government plans a national campaign to encourage more Chinese to give blood. At present, only 20 percent of the blood needed in China is provided through voluntary donations, with another 40 percent coming from compulsory donations, the report said without providing further details.
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