Online tools can help reduce HIV infections among young people, experts say



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Online tools should be used to educate young people about HIV / AIDS prevention, public health experts said on Nov.24, as young people make up a significant share of new infections each year.

Citing data from a UN report released in July, Zhou Kai, an official of the Chinese office of the United Nations Joint Program on HIV / AIDS, said people aged 15 to 24 made up 34 % 1.7 million people recently infected with HIV in the world last year.

Last year, there were about 38 million people living with HIV, including 10 percent among the young population, Zhou said at an event in Beijing organized by the China Foundation for the Prevention of MTS and AIDS and the Danlan Public Interest Fund, ahead of the 33rd World AIDS Day, which will take place on December 1st.

According to official data, China reported about 145,000 new HIV / AIDS cases in 2018, but only about 3,000 cases, or 2%, were among students aged 15 to 24.

Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates that the number of new HIV infections reported among students aged 15 to 24 is expected to remain around 3,000 this year. However, he noted that more than 10,000 young people are expected to be infected with the virus each year across society.

The number of new HIV infections reported among students aged 15 to 24 has increased from 482 in 2008 to 3,077 in 2017 and has remained around 3,000 per year since then. Public health experts say campus infections are mostly linked to poor knowledge of HIV risk and adequate protective measures.

For his part, Wu added that AIDS has been the leading cause of death from infectious diseases in China since 2008. Data shows that nearly 21,000 people died from AIDS last year, or about 83 percent of deaths. attributed to infectious diseases.

“This year, deaths from HIV infections will be much higher (in China) than lives lost from COVID-19 infections,” Wu said, adding that more effort should be spent. use the Internet to promote HIV prevention. He also stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors.

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