AIDS Panic in China Leads to Draconian Measures

Efforts to fight the AIDS epidemic in China are coming largely in the form of bills limiting the rights of HIV-infected individuals -- a situation that has doctors and activists concerned. The fear is that the new measures could increase discrimination against people with HIV or AIDS; discourage individuals from getting tested for HIV; and play on the belief that AIDS can be eliminated by punishing those infected, rather than informing the public. A law in Beijing City, for example, stipulates that the bodies of people who died from HIV or AIDS must be cremated immediately and not moved out of the city. In Hebei Province, the law states that "those with sexually transmitted diseases who have not been cured cannot join the military, enter school, recruit workers or get married, cannot obtain permission to have a child, cannot work in child care, food-related, or service industries, etc., and those already in those fields must be transferred." Recent government estimates indicate that China could have 10 million cases of HIV infection by 2010, up from 500,000 now, unless aggressive measures are taken. Experts note that because the country is at a relatively early stage with the disease, such efforts could be quite successful.

Other CDC News for March 23, 2001

Mortality, CD4 Cell Count Decline, and Depressive Symptoms Among HIV-Seropositive Women U.S. Drug Buyers Unlikely to Seek Deep Discounts on AIDS Medicines Congress Looks to Step Up Fight Against AIDS and Other Diseases Overseas Advertisement TB Cases Increase Despite Cheap Medication: WHO	AIDS Panic in China Leads to Draconian Measures Health Tips: Physicians Should Screen for Chlamydia Disney: No Risk to Visitors From Employee With TB Tuberculosis Treatment Interruption -- Ivanovo Oblast, Russia Federation, 1999 and Evaluation of a Directly Observed Therapy Short Course Strategy for TB Disease -- Orel Oblast, Russia, Russian Federation, 1999-2000
World TB Day -- March 24, 2001