China's health and education authorities are boosting efforts on HIV/AIDS prevention in universities where they claim sex between men are causing a rapid increase in HIV/AIDS cases.
The notice said the number of HIV carriers among young students has rapidly increased in the recent years with many infected through sex between men, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
Lack of communication between the health and education authorities and lack of AIDS prevention classes are the main obstacles in curbing the spread of the disease in schools, the notice said.
Local health authorities are required to report the situation of HIV carriers on campuses to local education authorities at least once half a year, read to a notice released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Education.
Authorities are also requiring at least six classes on AIDS prevention for junior high school students and four classes for senior high school students. College students are required to have at least one class every academic year on AIDS prevention.
The two government organs need to study the cause of the infections and then take measures to prevent the spread of the disease, the notice said. The privacy of carriers will be strictly protected in the reporting system.
Beijing registered a total of 2,932 new cases of HIV infections from January to October in 2014, up 21 percent from the same period in 2013. More than 100 of those infected were students, according to statistics from the Beijing health authorities in November 2014.
The number of people aged between 15 and 24 infected with HIV almost doubled from 2008 to 2012, with homosexual sex the most common cause, the Xinhua News Agency reported in 2014.
All universities in Beijing are expected to install condom vending machines to promulgate the idea of safe sex and curb the spread of the disease.
In order to raise the students' awareness, the notice also required schools to provide contact information of local HIV/AIDS consultants to help guide students who may be vulnerable to HIV infection.
