Beijing Health Bureau said yesterday it has detected 1,244 AIDS cases in the capital since 1985, 74 percent of them are aged between 20 to 39 years.

Of these cases, 340 were reported in the first nine months this year, 55 percent more than the same period in 2001. Fifty-one of this year's cases are Beijing residents, 24 more than the previous year. In the 1,244 cases reported in the past 18 years, 22 percent are Beijing residents, 879 (71 percent) are from other Chinese areas and 88 (7 percent) are foreigners.

Of the cases reported among the local Beijing residents, 44 are AIDS patients and the others tested positive for HIV. People with HIV/AIDS range in age from six months to 68 years, according to the local health bureau. In about 62 percent of cases patients contracted the virus from contaminated blood, and 0.8 percent were carried from mothers to babies.

(eastday.com November 29, 2002)