AIDS strikes the hardest among teenagers and elderly people in China. And, rates of AIDS in the gay male population are on the rise. This is from a national report on the infectious disease released by the Ministry of Health.
Between January and October this year, there have been almost 70,000 newly-registered HIV and AIDS cases. The report points to sexual transmission as the primary ways of spreading the disease. Xinhua's official microblog said it accounts for almost 85% of transmissions. Infections among China's MSM population -- males who have sex with males -- is on the rise and it accounts for almost 20% of sexual transmissions. The transmission rates are also on the rise for teenagers aged 15 to 24 and elderly people over 50. Xinhua said infection rates among these 2 groups have seen an increase of 12.8% and 20.2% compared to last year. And as the disease progresses in many sufferers, China will be seeing a growing number of AIDS-related deaths.
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