China releases updated statistics on HIV/AIDS

"A total of 28,000 people died of HIV/AIDS in China in 2011, and another 48,000 in the country were found newly infected by the virus, according to an official publication" released on Saturday by China's Ministry of Health, UNAIDS, and the WHO, Xinhua/China Daily reports. "With about 780,000 people living with HIV/AIDS nationwide, including 154,000 AIDS patients, the total infection rate of the country stands at 0.058 percent, the report said," according to the news service. "The report added that more than 136,000 AIDS patients had received anti-virus treatments by September 2011, bringing the treatment coverage rate to 73.5 percent, an increase of 11.5 percentage points compared to 2009," Xinhua writes (1/21).