China has diagnosed 104 000 new cases of HIV/Aids in 2014, media has reported, highlighting growth in infections in the country despite a comparatively low overall rate, reports Health24.
The figure was a 14% increase on the number of new cases diagnosed in 2013, the country's health administration is quoted as saying. Chinese state-run media said last month that half a million people – less than 0.04% of China's total population – were living with the disease or the virus, although hundreds of thousands more are thought to be undiagnosed.
The UN's anti-Aids body does not carry 2013 statistics for China on its website, but said in a 2012 report that HIV/Aids prevalence remains "low" in the country compared to global averages. It added that 39,000 cases were diagnosed in 2011.
China's National Centre for Aids/STD Control and Prevention last year estimated that as many as 810,000 people are living with HIV/Aids in the country, including those who have not yet been diagnosed, out of a total population of 1.36bn. That is a far lower proportion than India, where UNAIDS says there are more 2m people living with HIV, in a slighter smaller total population.
[link url="http://www.health24.com/Medical/HIV-AIDS/About-HIV-AIDS/China-diagnosed-104000-new-HIVAids-cases-in-2014-20150116"]Full Health24 report[/link]