Fake AIDS panic shows HIV ignorance
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Twenty-six-year-old Jiang visited a prostitute last July. Unexpectedly, he had a condom breakage during sex. He fell ill the next day. He believed that he had been infected with HIV. Another man, Zhang, went to a night club where he did not have sex but only allowed a prostitute to lick his chest. He ran a fever the next day and had a bad toothache. He suspected that he had been infected with HIV.
Both Jiang and Zhang were tested for HIV many times and the results were all negative.
Media interest in HIV has waned in recent years. But the stories of Jiang and Zhang have rekindled media interest. That rumor has triggered tens of thousands of blogs and microblogs in addition to heavy traditional media coverage.
Last week, a large number of people claimed to have been infected by the "HIV-Negative AIDS." But there is no clinical, laboratory or epidemiological evidence that these people suffer any infective disease.
Even though medical scientists may laugh at journalists reporting this kind of rumors , the Chinese public urgently need a nationwide health education about prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Numerous studies have been conducted on the transmission risks associated with specific sexual acts. The odds of HIV transmission from a woman to a man during a single instance of unprotected vaginal intercourse is estimated at between one chance in 2,500 and one chance in 263.
HIV/AIDS in China is mostly transmitted through sex, particularly through sex workers.
By the end of August 2010, there were 361,599 people reported HIV positive in China. Among reported cases, the proportion due to heterosexual transmission rose to 53.8 percent from 30.6 percent in 2006, according to UNAIDS.
The Chinese government should take responsibility for preventing HIV transmission for sex workers living with HIV, particularly those who have not been tested as HIV-positive and work underground.
Since sex trade is a criminal offence, the government has no way to manage and control HIV/AIDS among the sex workers. Since last year's nationwide crackdown, most sex workers have gone underground, making it more difficult for Chinese health workers to prevent HIV among the most-at-risk population.
