The central government is spending 800 million yuan (US$99 million) on prevention efforts this year, up from 100 million yuan in 2002, the minister said, adding that China was capable of effectively containing the spread of the virus.

"AIDS prevention is an issue related to the quality of the population, economic development, social stability and the rise or decline of the country," Gao told a news conference.

The number of HIV carriers in the country was estimated at 840,000 at the end of last year following an investigation by the ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO).

But there were only 135,630 cases, including 31,143 AIDS patients, registered till the end of September, which means a majority of HIV carriers who may or may not know they are infected have not been identified.

Gao said that the ministry and the WHO estimate that China has 70,000 AIDS patients.

Some experts have warned that if no effective measures are taken immediately, the number of HIV carriers in the country could increase to 10 million in 2010.

(Red ribbons on trees on the campus of Renmin University in Beijing to mark the "World AIDS Day" Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005. Photo: CRIENGLISH.com )

China started to move aggressively against the disease in the late 1990s when outbreaks were found among blood sellers.

As the virus spread, government funding also increased rapidly: In 1997, only about 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) was spent on AIDS prevention and control; this year, the figure has risen 40-fold.

The virus, which first appeared in 1985, has spread to all 31 provinces and regions on the Chinese mainland.

Of the infected cases, people who sold blood in the early 1990s in such provinces as Henan, Shanxi and Sichuan account for 23 per cent; drug abusers, 40 per cent; and those who indulge in unsafe sex, 9 per cent. It is not clear how the remaining contracted the disease.

While cases of infection through blood transmission have come down since the late 1990s, health authorities are worried about drug abuse and unsafe commercial sex, which are illegal and hard to monitor.

Unsafe sexual contact will become a major channel for the spread of HIV/AIDS from high-risk groups to the general public, Gao warned.

According to reports from surveillance sites, the HIV infection rate among prostitutes has soared from 2 per 10,000 in 1996 to 93 per 10,000 in 2004.

In some regions where the disease is widespread, mother-to-child infection has also been on the rise.

In 2004, spot tests in hospitals showed that 26 of 10,000 pregnant women were infected in Yunnan Province compared to none in 1997.

About 77 per cent of the HIV/AIDS cases are in Yunnan, Henan, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Guangdong.

The government has stepped up public education, expanded HIV testing to more people and increased epidemic surveillance.

At least 2 million people, including blood sellers, drug abusers, and employees in the entertainment industry, have received free HIV tests provided by the government.

The number of surveillance sites increased from 194 in 2003 to 247 last year.

Work on HIV control and treatment of AIDS patients has been listed as an important criterion to evaluate the performance of government officials, Gao said.

Those who do not fare well in epidemic surveillance or fail to implement policies, such as free medical treatment for AIDS patients and free education for their children, face censure or punishment.

(Source: China Daily)