Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Tuesday, 26 November, 2002
Adam Brookes, BBC Beijing correspondent
She wears a faded blue cotton jacket and her face is streaked with tears.
I met her in her one-storey brick house in Anhui province in eastern China.
Her eldest son died of an Aids-related infection three months ago. Now her second son, Baifang, lies racked with fever, barely able to talk.
He is suffering powerful fevers and diarrhoea. He says he longs to die.
Baifang contracted HIV when he sold his blood plasma to a commercial dealer at a government-run clinic. It was easy money, but the needles were filthy.
In this poor village, many of the young men did the same, and now, HIV is running rampant through the community.
Mounting debts
Mrs Hu has the barest understanding of HIV. She does not know there is no cure. She has never heard of anti-retroviral drugs.
She tells me she has spent her life savings on glucose drips and aspirin for her sons. Now, her meagre resources are gone.
Nobody is tending her tiny scrap of land and the family is sinking deeper and deeper into debt.
In China's poor villages, the state's response to HIV is non-existent and here, the disease doesn't just kill its victims - it impoverishes them too.
The village has one health worker. He says eight villagers have died from Aids in the last six months. A quarter of the village's population may be HIV positive.
He has no anti-Aids drugs and no training. Handing out a few leaflets is the sum of his prevention work.
At China's top Aids clinic in Beijing, treatment is reserved for the wealthy few. Up-to-date Aids drugs cost five times the salary of a Chinese worker and the patient must pay.
In China HIV/Aids is going to kill millions of people. That much is already clear.
There are some signs that the central government in Beijing is waking up to the danger, but Aids education and prevention across this vast country has even now barely begun.
021126
BB021116
Copyright © 2002 - BBC. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BBC.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, theElton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
.