HIV and AIDS in Shenzhen

Posted by TheSZWeb Shenzhen Blog Info on Tuesday January 2 @ 1:17 am

2006 was the year the press in Shenzhen started covering the once-taboo topic of AIDS in China.

The statistics give an indication why this is now being taken seriously:

Shenzhen AIDS cases rose over 41% in 2006
In 2006, there were 457 reported HIV cases and 73 AIDS sufferers. Compare that to 47 / 27 five years ago, and 0 / 0 in 1993.
The recorded cases in 2006 include a variety of age groups and profiles.
56% of new HIV cases are said to have been infected via drug syringes.

Reasons why the figures are probably hugely understated:
- Define “shenzhen” / “shenzhen citizen”… Although Baoan and Longgang are included in the figures, there are densely populated parts of greater Shenzhen which do not figure in the city official calculations yet.
- How many people have no idea they are HIV positive? In China… a lot, probably.
- Wider monitoring, better testing, and more openness in declared figures will lead to large increases in next year’s AIDS statistics for sure.

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