Experts slam blaming HIV on foreigners

Expanded tests in China unearth new infection cases: UNAIDS

Health experts on Monday slammed a widely circulated article which claims the recent surge of HIV/AIDS cases in China was caused by the influx of foreigners, calling it ignorance of the virus.



Zhou Peng'an, a commentator and former member of the Wuhu Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on his public WeChat account in early October that the surge in China's new HIV/AIDS cases was partially caused by the removal of an entry ban for foreigners with HIV/AIDS since 2010, and also by the influx of a large number of African students studying in China.



In his widely circulated article, Zhou claimed that many of the overseas students from Africa were infected with HIV before coming to China.



However, Chinese netizens criticized his article, with the majority calling his views a distortion of facts and written to catch attention.



"Attributing the surge of China's HIV/AIDS cases to foreigners is an exaggeration, which reflects people's ignorance of the virus and their aversion to foreigners," Zhang Beichuan, a leading expert on HIV/AIDS intervention and sexologist at Qingdao University, told the Global Times on Monday.



International people living with HIV (PLHIV) accounted for 1.7 percent of those diagnosed with HIV in China by 2014, which implies that international PLHIV is not an epidemic in China, according to a statement the UNAIDS sent to the Global Times on Monday.



"There is no evidence linking HIV among young students to African students in China," the UNAIDS statement said.



Zhang said many countries have no entry ban on foreigners with HIV/AIDS, which does not cause the spread of the virus in the countries.



As of June, China reported 820,756 people living with HIV/AIDS. By the second quarter this year, there were 40,104 new HIV carriers and AIDS patients, according to data the Chinese Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control sent to the Global Times in September.



China reported about 104,000 new HIV/AIDS cases in 2014, almost double the number in 2008 with only 56,000 cases, the Beijing Morning Post reported in 2016.



It is noteworthy that not all new HIV cases are new cases of HIV infection, UNAIDS said.



People may be living with HIV even for several years but be unaware of their status until they are identified through tests, according to the UNAIDS statement.



"New HIV cases increased over the years with the expansion of HIV testing. This increase shows the success of China's expanded HIV testing but does not necessarily mean that there are more new HIV infections," UNAIDS said.





