Some 347 people had been found to be HIV infected throughout Shenzhen last year, 79 of them with AIDS, according to an AIDS report released at a working conference of the municipal health bureau Tuesday.

The number of HIV-infected people last year increased by 180 percent over the previous year, which meant a more severe situation for the city's task of AIDS prevention, said the report.

Of the 347 HIV-infected people and AIDS patients, 264 were male and 83 female, accounting for 76.1 percent and 23.9 percent of the total respectively. Almost 52 percent were unmarried while 43.8 percent were married.

Some 139 of the 4,696 drug addicts examined in three drug rehabilitation centers were found to be HIV infected while 35 were from several detention houses.

Job distribution showed that 55.6 percent were unemployed while 15.2 percent were employed, 9.4 percent in the service sector, 7.6 percent technicians, 6.4 percent business people and 5.8 percent peasants.

Statistics also showed that 28.8 percent were temporary residents while 66 percent were from the floating population, 5.2 percent from permanent residents with Shenzhen hukou, and 1.2 percent foreigners.

Figures also varied greatly between the six districts with the most cases in Bao'an District, accounting for 40.9 percent of the total. Longgang had 21.6 percent, Luohu 21, Futian 8.7 and Nanshan 7.8 percent. Yantian District was the only district free of HIV infection, the report said.

It was also revealed that drug addicts using needles were the majority of HIV infections, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total. Other infections were through sexual activity, blood transfusions, or from a mother to her unborn child.

Statistics from the Shenzhen Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (SZCDC) showed that nearly 80 medical organizations and institutions at various levels had started to screen HIV cases, examining 274,666 people last year.

“The city's AIDS situation is relatively stable but the prevention task is still severe,” said Feng Jian, an SZCDC expert.

As the HIV-infected people detected earlier had gradually developed AIDS, the demand for clinical treatment grew increasingly, experts said.

The SZCDC had provided counseling and prevention advice for 325 HIV-infected people and patients and offered clinical treatment guidance for 21 patients and provided follow-up service for 27 patients.

Shenzhen had taken a series of measures to deal with the situation. The city now has 58 laboratories, 56 for initial screening and two for diagnosis. The city provides free blood tests for people who volunteer for examinations for HIV, free treatment for impoverished AIDS patients, free education for orphans of AIDS parents and free HIV examinations and treatment for pregnant women.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2005)