AIDS in China "like Africa": official

The AIDS situation in China is becoming "like Africa", with the virus spreading beyond high risk groups such as prostitutes, homosexuals and drug users who administer via injection, a senior health official told Reuters. "It is a generalized epidemic," said Hao Yang, deputy director of the bureau of diseases prevention and control at the Ministry of Health. "We're now like Africa. Last year, we found that 48% of those who were newly infected contracted the disease from sex, so it's not a disease that afflicts only high-risk groups." He added that, although medication was prolonging the lives of many of China's 650,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers, some were developing resistance to treatment because they didn't appreciate the level of discipline required to keep the virus at bay. To combat the spread of HIV, all entertainment premises in China must now have condoms available while the number of methadone clinics is rising to help drug addicts.