A total of 7,593 people in northwest China's
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had contracted the deadly HIV
virus, which causes AIDS, by late June this year, sources from the
regional Red Cross said.
This places the region second in the country in terms of the
number of AIDS patients.
Most of the AIDS virus carriers in the region are aged 20 to 40,
and 98 percent contracted the deadly disease via intravenous drug
abuse, said an expert with the Consulting and Training Center for
Prevention and Control of AIDS and STD (sexually transmitted
diseases) of the regional Red Cross.
According to the expert, the Red Cross has set up specialized
offices in Ili, Hami, Changji, and Urumqi to monitor the spread of
AIDS and to increase awareness about the fatal disease in these
areas.
The first AIDS case in Xinjiang was found in 1995.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2003)