Cai Wenjun/Shanghai Daily news
One way to mark World AIDS Day today would be to wander over to Yuyuan Road
near the Jing'an Temple for a meal at the city's first AIDS-themed
restaurant.
The Chinese eatery, which was set up by a local media firm and a
US multinational, will give away condoms to adult dinners and encourage
customers to donate their change to AIDS charities.
The restaurant, named
Wumizhou, will open today targeting white-collar workers, according to officials
with the Wumizhou Group.
"Following the precedence of an AIDS eatery in
Thailand, this theme restaurant in Shanghai was launched by the Wumizhou Group
and US-based 3M to wipe out prejudice, distribute condoms, promote education and
sponsor AIDS charities," said Fang Yifang, an official in charge of local AIDS
charity programs.
Officials from 3M said their company does a lot of work
with breast cancer charities in the United States, and they were looking to do
more charity work in Shanghai, so the restaurant seemed like a good idea.
The
Shanghai Health Bureau announced yesterday that the city has detected 1,506 HIV
carriers since it began screening for the disease about 10 years ago, including
164 people with full-blown AIDS.
So far this year, 356 local residents have
been diagnosed with HIV, a 64 percent increase from last year.
"Among the
newly detected carriers of the virus, the number of males is 4.4 times that of
females. Seventy-eight are locals, 271 come from other provinces and seven are
from overseas," said Peng Jin, a bureau official.
Most of the infected locals
caught the virus through unsafe sex, while about half of the migrants caught it
from used needles, Peng said.
People between the ages of 21 and 40 account
for a little more than two-thirds of the 356 HIV carriers detected this
year.
Peng noted that 21 medical facilities in Shanghai began offering free
HIV and AIDS testing this year as well as free treatment for those who test
positive.
Of the approximately 2,000 people who have been tested at those
facilities this year, 26 tested positive for HIV.
The Shanghai Public Health
Center provides free medication and treatment for AIDS patients, Peng
said.