China Reports Surge in New HIV and AIDS Cases

College students especially hard hit, authorities say

Volunteers from Red Cross China take part in an AIDS-awareness event on World AIDS Day at Beijing's south railway station on December 1, 2009, to call for better government support for HIV/AIDS victims in China. AFP/AFP/Getty Images

HIV and AIDS are on the rise in China, where authorities have reported more than 40,000 new cases in the second quarter of 2018 alone.

Experts at the Fifth National Conference on HIV/AIDS reported 40,104 new cases of the disease, of which 93.1 percent were transmitted via sexual contact, the state-run China News Service reported Sept. 26. That’s in  contrast with data from about a decade ago, when most cases were the result of unsafe medical practices or drug abuse.