Beijing found 311 HIV carriers, including 54 suffering from AIDS, in the first seven months of this year, up 53.2 percent and 42.1 percent, respectively, over the corresponding period last year, the municipal disaster control center reported yesterday.
The new discovery brings the total number of HIV carriers to 2,226, including 289 AIDS patients, in the Chinese capital as of the end of July.
Intravenous drug-use and unsafe sex are the two major channels of HIV transmission among Chinese and foreigners, according to the center.
To curb the spread of the killer disease, the municipal government offered free consultations and tests for the HIV virus starting last August.
The city's disease control center and centers in all the 18 local districts and counties carry out the required consultations and tests.
By the end of July, the city had offered free consultation and tests for 6,009 people, 37 of whom were found to be HIV-infected.
The capital city has also promoted the use of condoms and launched a clean-needle exchange project to curb the spread of the disease.
Official statistics show that among China's 840,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, 45 percent get infected through drug injection, 25 percent through blood transfusions and 30 percent through unsafe sex, a steadily rising factor.
Health experts urge reducing unprotected sex and push for higher condom use as "the final defense against AIDS."
China is carrying out "100 percent" condom use programs in provinces such as Hubei, Yunnan and Jiangsu.
The central government is planning to extend them to Fujian Province and Beijing.
The slogan,  "No Condom, No Sex," is designed to ensure condoms are provided at sites with sex workers.
Despite the "100 percent" Condom Use Project, China still faces many challenges, such as lack of public awareness about safe sex, some local authorities' failure to grasp the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention, low social participation and lack of access to high-quality, affordable condoms.
(Xinhua)