What do you know about AIDS?
Tomorrow (December 1) is World AIDS Day, and data released today (30) by the National Health Commission shows that by the end of October this year, a total of 958000 people living with HIV were reported nationwide, and the overall epidemic continues tobe ata low epidemic level.
By the end of October, 958000 people were infected with HIV nationwide
This year, China has further increased its testing and treatment strategies to maximize the detection and treatment of HIV-infected patients. From January to October this year, a total of 230million people were tested, 131000 new cases of HIV infection were reported, 127000 new cases of antiviral treatment were added, and the proportion of infected people eligible for treatment nationwide received antiviral treatment was 86.6%, with a treatment success rate of 93.5%. At present, the transmission of HIV through blood transfusion in China is basically blocked, the transmission through intravenous drug use and mother-to-child transmission is effectively controlled, and sexual transmission has become the main transmission route. Among the newly reported infections from January to October this year, heterosexual transmission accounted for 73.7% and male homosexual transmission accounted for 23%. The distribution of the epidemic is uneven, the impact of a wide range of factors complex and diverse, the prevention and control situation is still serious.
The National Health Commission said the next step for the country will be to increase efforts to prevent and treat AIDS through six major projects: publicity and education, comprehensive intervention, expanded testing and treatment, comprehensive social management, elimination of mother-to-child transmission of AIDS, and education on AIDS prevention for students. These include implementing full coverage of condom placement in hotels and other public places; using voluntary counseling networks to mobilize people with HIV-prone behaviors for testing; cracking down on illegal and criminal acts related to the hazards of HIV transmission in accordance with the law, and conducting HIV testing on people caught in prostitution and public debauchery; implementing six class periods of AIDS prevention education for junior high school sections and four class periods for high school sections, and implementing general higher education schools and Specific measures such as the implementation of AIDS prevention teaching tasks in general higher education and vocational colleges.
Curbing the spread of AIDS starts with the youth
According to data, the number of AIDS cases among young students between the ages of 15 and 24 has been reported to be around 3000 cases per year in recent years. Although they account for only about 2% of new cases, the spread of AIDS among adolescents is trending toward younger age groups and male-to-male transmission. The recent Implementation Plan to Curb the Spread of AIDS (2019-2022), jointly developed by ten departments, clearly proposes to carry out AIDS prevention education for students.
The "Youth Zero AIDS" campus campaign, jointly launched by the China Foundation for STD and AIDS Prevention, media and public welfare organizations, was recently launched. Experts will go to eight key colleges and universities across China to popularize the knowledge of AIDS prevention and treatment through expert reports and theme lectures. Lack of knowledge and awareness is a major cause of HIV infection among young people. A baseline survey on HIV prevention and control knowledge among adolescents shows that the awareness rate of junior high school students is around 16% and less than 25% in high school. Experts believe that teenagers are at an earlier age of sexual maturity and younger age of sexual behavior, especially young students who are sexually active, but this group is not aware of the risk of HIV infection and lacks knowledge of prevention and control, so the importance of HIV prevention education for teenagers is becoming more and more prominent.
I hope that more schools can offer more courses onAIDSPrevention and control, so that young people can be more aware of AIDS prevention and control, but also that these young people, especially school students, can take responsibility for themselves, for their own future, and for their families. They are responsible for their own future, for their families and for society.
Experts say that AIDS is mainly transmitted through sex, and this characteristic determines that sex education should be moved forward as the gateway to AIDS prevention and control. It is necessary to improve the relevance and effectiveness of sex education by starting from sex physiology, sex psychology, sex morality, values and emotional concerns. The Ministry of Education and the National Health and Welfare Commission recently jointly deployed to strengthen AIDS prevention education in schools, putting forward a series of requirements for various departments, including the inclusion of comprehensive AIDS prevention and control education in school education programs, and explicitly requiring the strengthening of propaganda and advocacy, as well as the role of experts to provide technical guidance and professional counseling services for AIDS prevention education in schools.
China CDC Releases Core Messages on AIDS Prevention
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, the Chinese CDC released a new version of its core message on AIDS prevention and education for the general public, providing detailed answers on the dangers of AIDS, prevention and treatment, and related regulations.
AIDS is currently incurable and there is no vaccine to prevent it
The core message begins by emphasizing that AIDS is not far away from our lives and is not curable and not vaccine-preventable.
HIV infection can have a huge impact on life, requiring regular medication for life and increasing mental stress. The virus slowly destroys a person's immune system, and if standard treatment is not adhered to, the disease progresses rapidly after the onset.Common symptoms after the onset of the disease include: infection of the skin and mucous membranes, herpes simplex, herpes zoster, blood blisters, bruises, etc.; persistent fever; pneumonia, tuberculosis, cough, difficulty in breathing, persistent diarrhea, blood in the stool, enlarged liver and spleen, and complications of malignant tumors.
Three ways of HIV transmission: sexual, blood, mother-to-child
HIV is transmitted through sexual contact, blood and mother-to-child transmission. Sexual contact is the most important way of HIV transmission.HIV can be transmitted between men and women or between men and women through sexual intercourse. After leaving the body, HIV is less resistant to the outside environment and everyday contact does not transmit HIV. HIV is not transmitted through public facilities such as toilet rings, telephone sets, eating utensils, sleeping utensils, swimming pools or baths. Coughing and sneezing do not transmit HIV. Mosquito bites do not transmit HIV. STDs can increase the risk of contracting HIV and must be treated promptly at a regular medical facility.
The state implements free HIV antiretroviral treatment
The core message states that the most effective means of prevention is to acquire knowledge of HIV prevention, refuse risky behavior and protect yourself. Before the onset of HIV infection, a person's appearance is no different from that of a normal person, and one should never judge whether a person is infected with HIV by his or her health appearance. People who have had high-risk sex, shared syringes for drugs, sold blood, are suspected of having received unsafe blood transfusions or injections, and pregnant women in areas with a high incidence of AIDS should take the initiative to get tested for HIV. The State Council's Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control stipulate that the state shall keep confidential information about individuals who have received voluntary HIV counseling tests. The State implements free HIV antiretroviral treatment and recommends antiretroviral treatment for all HIV-infected persons and patients, i.e."treatment upon detection".