An estimated number of 850,000 people in China had been infected by the virus of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by the end of 2001, China's public health authorities announced Thursday.

The Ministry of Health said by the end of last year, 30,736 people had been confirmed as HIV carriers, among whom 1,594 people were fully-developed AIDS patients, and 684 of them had died.

HIV/AIDS experts at China's national center for disease control and prevention estimated that the actual figure of HIV/AIDS cases in the 1.3-billion people country might have reached 850,000 by the end of the year 2001 as the level of discovery remains low. The number of AIDS patients alone might have reached 200,000.

The experts believe that over half of the 200,000 AIDS patients have lost their lives. Sharing of needles among intravenous drug users caused 68 percent of confirmed HIV cases, while unclean operation in the process of illegal blood deals was responsible for 9.7 percent of HIV infection. Some 7.2 percent of HIV carriers were victims of unsafe sex, according to the ministry.

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2002)