2016年CRI HIV/AIDS on the rise among young Chinese

 

The theme of this year's World AIDS Day is "Hands up for #HIVprevention," a fitting call for China given a fast rise of infections among the country's young people.

Official figures show there have been around 96,000 new cases of HIV/AIDS during the first nine months of the year.

Among them, 2,000 are from people between the ages of 18 and 22.

While the number is a relatively¹ small portion of the total, Wang Lu, a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says certian trends behind the figure are worrisome.

"In recent years, we have seen fast growing numbers of new cases among the younger generations – much faster than the infection rate for the overall population. Among the reported cases, the male to female ratio is an astonishing 41:1. More than three-quarters of the new male patients are between the ages of 18 to 22, and a majority were infected through same-sex sexual activities. "

Wang Lu says compounding the problem is that many new young patients say they do not use protection when having sex.

This is prompting health experts and officials in China to call for more sexual health education for young people.

Just ahead of this year's World AIDS Day, ten primary and secondary schools in Beijing have launched programs to provide their students with sexual and psychological counseling.

Zhao Fangzhou is a middle school teacher at one of the schools.

"We provide counseling on both adolescent psychological and physiological² development. That includes sexual education, sexual morality, self-protection for girls, and some social topics related to sexual matters. We also talk about AIDS prevention so our students can be psychologically prepared when they encounter these topics."

The new program in the Beijing schools is part of the AIDS Prevention Education Project for Chinese Youth, which was initiated³ 10 years ago by Chinese authorities.

The latest figures from the Chinese CDC also show that sexual transmission has become the leading cause of HIV/AIDS infections in China, overtaking blood transfusions⁴ and drug-related injections.

Wang Lu from the Chinese CDC says health officials are also adjusting their prevention campaigns based on the new trends.

"Based on our observations, we have put an emphasis of our prevention work on sexual transmissions. Around 30% of the new HIV/AIDS cases this year were transmitted through male homosexual activities, while 60% were through heterosexual encounters. So sexual transmission is responsible for more than 90% of the new cases."　

As of September of this year, 654,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in China.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

3 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

4 transfusions   

n.输血( transfusion的名词复数 )；输液；倾注；渗透

参考例句：

• Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs. 还有，输血很明显从未传播过这种病，即使在血友病人之间也是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Blood transfusions are a special, limited example of tissue transplantation. 输血是一个特殊的、有限制的组织移植的例子。 来自辞典例句