In recent years, the proportion of elderly people in China infected with HIV/AIDS has been steadily increasing. Experts in Beijing pointed out that the majority of elderly infection cases in Beijing are concentrated in the male homosexual community.
According to reports from mainland China on December 27, the percentage of newly diagnosed elderly HIV/AIDS patients in China continues to rise. This year, the proportion of elderly HIV cases in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and other regions has noticeably increased. Specifically, in Zhejiang, the elderly population over 50 years old accounts for 39.2% of the newly diagnosed HIV cases this year.
The latest data released in December by Chongqing revealed that from January to October this year, individuals aged 50 and above accounted for a staggering 77.2% of the newly reported HIV infections and AIDS cases in the city.
In provinces like Jiangxi, Fujian, Hebei, Zhejiang, and others, the proportion of elderly HIV cases is on the rise, ranging from over thirty percent to even more than seventy percent.
HIV/AIDS is the manifestation of HIV infection at its advanced stage. After entering the human body, HIV primarily attacks CD4+ T lymphocytes. When the virus continues to replicate and extensively damage CD4+ T lymphocytes, the immune function collapses leading to the development of AIDS and severe complications.
Bai Hua, a man in his fifties, is an HIV-infected individual and the founder of an HIV support group called “Bai Hua Lin.” He noticed that around 2011, there was already a trend of increasing elderly HIV infections in China, but it did not receive sufficient attention at that time.
In 2018, Bai Hua established an online communication group specifically for elderly patients, which initially had just over 300 members. “Now the first group is full with five hundred people, and the second group has three to four hundred members.”
Bai Hua emphasized that HIV-infected individuals constitute a diverse group, representing a microcosm of society.
Zhao Ting, a staff member at a county-level CDC in southwestern China, noticed a significant increase in HIV infections among individuals over 50 in their local area in recent years, with dozens of new elderly cases being reported annually, many of which are still in the early stages of infection.
Liang Xiaofeng, former deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that while HIV screening used to focus mainly on the homosexual community in the past, the situation has evolved. A considerable number of new infections now stem from commercial (prostitution) activities due to their low cost and high discretion, becoming a major channel for elderly infections.
Liang Xiaofeng mentioned that with the aging population, the number of newly diagnosed elderly HIV infections and AIDS patients may continue to rise.
Dr. Li Zaicun, director of the Infectious Disease Outpatient Department at Beijing You’an Hospital, once treated an HIV-infected man in his eighties who claimed to have been infected through a relationship with his maid.
Dr. Li noted that in Beijing, HIV cases are mainly concentrated in the male homosexual community, and among the elderly population, a significant number are also male homosexuals. As early as 2013, the Beijing Health Bureau released a statement indicating that seventy percent of new reported AIDS cases in the city were a result of male homosexual activities.
Shao Ying, the head nurse of the Infectious Disease Outpatient Department at Beijing You’an Hospital, mentioned that among the newly identified elderly HIV cases in Beijing, some are empty-nesters, some have long been separated from their spouses, and some are migrant workers.
There is currently no cure for AIDS. Many elderly HIV-infected individuals also suffer from various chronic diseases and require long-term medication.
A study published in the “Chinese Journal of Epidemiology” in 2023 revealed a growing trend of HIV-infected individuals over 50 in China, increasing from nearly 33,000 cases in 2015 to nearly 52,000 cases in 2022, with the number of HIV-infected individuals over 60 rising from over 17,000 in 2015 to over 27,000 in 2022.
In response to the news, netizens have been discussing:
“Some of the former Red Guards who are now elderly still lead unrestrained lives, with some retirement funds in hand, busy dancing in public squares, seeking women, engaging in prostitution, and playing around with different women. It’s surprising that they haven’t contracted AIDS.”
“Back then, China lifted AIDS entry controls, allowed African students to enter the country, and even provided them with female companions. Party officials were involved in clandestine relationships with women everywhere, leading to hospitals, schools, government offices, and enterprises becoming the most severely affected groups by the spread of AIDS in China!”
American virologist Lin Xiaoxu once analyzed for the Epoch Times, stating that the Chinese Communist Party’s governance has eroded people’s faith, abandoning traditional values in Chinese society. This shift in values has made people more inclined to pursue immediate pleasures, leading to an increase in elderly individuals contracting AIDS.
Furthermore, CCP officials have never cared about people’s lives, long concealing the truth about AIDS in China. People are unaware of the dangers of AIDS, leading some to become victims due to ignorance and inadvertently harm others.
Lin Xiaoxu also highlighted that blood stations in various regions in China collude with blood traffickers, engaging in irregular blood collection practices. The earliest cases stemmed from the blood-selling economy in Henan Province, causing a massive spread of AIDS. Although the CCP disbanded blood stations, they never disclosed the reasons for their closure. Blood traffickers simply shifted operations elsewhere, resulting in many individuals receiving HIV-infected blood without knowledge and subsequently passing on the infection to others.
In September of last year, news of a group of students at Anyang University in Henan collectively contracting AIDS briefly trended. Reports indicated that female students at Anyang University were coerced by school leaders to accompany county officials, leading to the transmission of AIDS to over a thousand individuals. Consequently, two female students from the school committed suicide.