A leading Chinese expert on AIDS has aired a stern warning that the
nation is on the brink of an AIDS pandemic without immediate and
effective control measures.
Zeng Yi, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Preventive
Medicines and an academician with the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, put the finger on inadequate funding for
prevention, coupled with underrating the seriousness of a massive
AIDS outbreak and its potential to create great havoc throughout
the country.
"Without effective measures on these fronts, there is no guarantee
of keeping a pandemic in check throughout the nation," said Zeng in
a recent workshop on AIDS in Beijing.
The reported number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in China has
reached 26,058, resulting in a total of 1,111 AIDS cases and 584
AIDS-related deaths, according to the latest official data.
Experts have estimated that more than 600,000 people in the country
have already been infected with HIV.
In
a recent interview with Beijing-based Guangming Daily, Zeng said
the main cause of AIDS in China is shifting from drug injection and
shared syringes to sexual transmission, putting China more in line
with the AIDS situation in the developed nations.
"Though HIV/AIDS contraction via sexual infection still takes a
small share of the total numbers of the infected in China, the
shifting trend is threatening to China, which has billions of young
people active in social mobility," said Zeng.
Intravenous drug use is still the most common transmission route of
HIV infection in China, contributing to 69.8 percent of the total
reported cases. All three HIV transmission routes - blood
transmission, sexual contact and mother-to-infant - have been
documented in China.
The expert said prostitution seems to have staged a comeback after
heavy crackdowns launched in the last few years. A majority of the
prostitutes are young girls from rural areas, who, once sent back
to their hometowns, help transmit the AIDS throughout the local
neighborhood.
The scenario is grim, as the rural region remains the Achille's
Heel of Beijing's preventive crusade against HIV infection and
spread, said Zheng.
He
warned that once sexual transfer becomes the major vehicle for HIV
infection, it will be more difficult for China to effectively
control AIDS.
He
said the country's anti-AIDS efforts should be geared up to meet
global standards, including an across-the-board strengthening of
measures used to check outbreaks.
He
suggested a persistent and repeated public campaign to notify
people about the AIDS.
Meanwhile, regulations ensuring a safe supply of blood should be
tightened and implementation measures should be enforced.
Zeng also proposed revising the legal stipulations on the ban of
prostitution and drugs, which stand in the way of the AIDS
prevention efforts.
While urging more research on AIDS prevention, Zeng also called for
the government at all levels to become the main financial source
for AIDS prevention efforts.
(China
Daily October 23, 2001)