Compulsory pre-marital HIV tests are to be implemented in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the area in China worst hit by AIDS, AFP reported, citing state media. The tests, part of a raft of tough measures aimed at stopping the virus spreading, will come in from January 1, 2007. Yunnan is located in the opium-producing Golden Triangle and is a major transit point for the drug trade. With 40,157 HIV sufferers at the end of last year – up from 14,905 two years earlier – it is also home to 25% of China's officially reported HIV cases. Under the new rules, those diagnosed with HIV must immediately inform their spouses or partners. The disease control department has the power to do this for them if they do not comply. One Beijing-based AIDS activist expressed concern that these rules violate people's right of privacy.
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