International News China Criticized Over High Death Rate of Blood Seller AIDS PatientsJanuary 25, 2006 In announcing new estimates of China's HIV/AIDS epidemic today, the Health Ministry acknowledged a high AIDS mortality rate among those who contracted HIV through unsafe, government-approved plasma collecting stations. Of the 25,000 people who died of AIDS in China last year, 10,000 acquired their infections through blood-buying schemes, said the Health Ministry. The high mortality comes despite estimates that those infected through blood-buying, mostly poor farmers, comprise a small proportion of total AIDS cases in China. The high mortality figure also exposes flaws in the two-year-old government program to offer free treatment to the farmers, said AIDS activists. Since it often takes years before HIV progresses to AIDS, it could also be that the blood-sellers are just beginning to reach the critical stage in their disease. Agence France Presse 01.25.06 ![]() Enhancing Voluntary Counseling and Testing in South Africa Could Improve Health of HIV-Positive People, Advocates Say This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
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