Epidemic of AIDS in China?
Posted on August 2nd, 2005 by joshbusby
AIDS in China a potential epidemic? Here is a story in The Economist which provides mixed new:
SURELY China does not face a general AIDS epidemic? The government says that only 0.07% of the general population is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and, unlike some other governments’ figures, this one may be an overestimate.
However, the trends look more worrying from a different perspective:
First, it has spread to every province (see map) and half the counties within them. Second, the number of reported cases is growing (chart 1, with map) and, since 85% of those infected do not know they are HIV-positive, the growth will continue. Third, among certain groups, the infection is present in alarming proportions (chart 2). Fourth, even a low prevalence rate, such as the WHO’s bottom-of-the-range 0.05%, means 650,000 infections; the government’s rate translates into 840,000.
Filed under: Politics and Policy