China's Yunnan reports fewer new HIV infections

Southwest China's Yunnan Province, a major battleground against HIV/AIDS and drugs, registered fewer new HIV infections in the first 10 months of this year, said local authorities on Friday.

A total of 8,101 new HIV cases were logged from January to October, down 15.6 percent year on year despite the increased number of test-takers, which amounted to nearly 34.86 million during the period, according to the provincial health commission.

Transmissions through sex were responsible for 97.6 percent of the new infections, with heterosexual transmissions accounting for 91.3 percent, while homosexual transmission accounted for 6.3 percent.

The rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS has been further reduced to 0.91 percent in the province (1.96 percent in 2019 and 1.36 percent in 2020), reaching the international standard for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS for three consecutive years.

There are currently 6,830 HIV rapid-testing locations in Yunnan, covering all its townships and villages.

Intravenous drug use was once a major cause of HIV infections in the province, as it borders the Golden Triangle, an area notorious for narcotics, in Southeast Asia.