Sexual transmission of AIDS on rise in gay male population

AIDS strikes the hardest among teenagers and elderly people in China. And, rates of AIDS in the gay male population are on the rise. This is from a national report on the infectious disease released by the Ministry of Health.

Between January and October this year, there have been almost 70,000 newly-registered HIV and AIDS cases. The report points to sexual transmission as the primary ways of spreading the disease. Xinhua's official microblog said it accounts for almost 85% of transmissions. Infections among China's MSM population -- males who have sex with males -- is on the rise and it accounts for almost 20% of sexual transmissions. The transmission rates are also on the rise for teenagers aged 15 to 24 and elderly people over 50. Xinhua said infection rates among these 2 groups have seen an increase of 12.8% and 20.2% compared to last year. And as the disease progresses in many sufferers, China will be seeing a growing number of AIDS-related deaths.