China: Rise in AIDS and Syphilis

China disclosed a large percentage rise for 2007 in diseases transmitted sexually or via blood, including AIDS and syphilis, without reporting exact figures. The number of new AIDS cases rose 45 percent in 2007 from the year before and new syphilis cases rose 24 percent, the Health Ministry said on its Web site. It did not elaborate. China has been battling an acknowledged rise in cases of AIDS and H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, now mainly sexually transmitted, though it had said before that the overall rate was slowing. In the past, most cases were caused by intravenous drug use. The government said last year that it estimated that about 700,000 people had H.I.V. or AIDS.