What’s new: The share of people living with HIV/AIDS in China soared more than seventyfold from 2002 to 2021, far outpacing the rise in the rates for reported cases and deaths from the disease, government media reported.
The prevalence rate of reported HIV/AIDS cases rose from 1.09 per 100,000 people in 2002 to 79.62 in 2021, according to a study published last month in CCDC Weekly, the official publication of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
In contrast, the rate for reported cases of HIV/AIDS has been falling since 2018. It slid back to 8.41 per 100,000 in 2021 after rising from 0.37 to 10.27 from 2002 to 2018, the study showed. It was the same story for the mortality rate, which fell to 2.43 per 100,000 in 2021 after increasing from 0.11 in 2002 to 2.59 in 2018.
What’s more: The decline in the latter two rates “may be due to the effects of China’s comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and control strategy and its overlapping impact of pandemic control efforts,” the study said.
The study attributed the surge in prevalence in part to the Chinese government’s sustained efforts to treat the infected, which has resulted in “a marked enhanced life expectancy for patients.”
The study covered only the Chinese mainland. It had some limitations, such as the fact that analyses relied on reported cases and did not reflect changes in actual case numbers, said the experts who conducted the study.
This story has been updated to correct the scale of the rise in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in China. It was more than seventyfold.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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