All over the globe, nations are battling the AIDS / HIV epidemic. In many countries, especially third-world ones, getting a good handle on the infection rate is virtually impossible. Even industrialized countries like China are grappling with ways to determine an accurate HIV/AIDS infection rate amongst its population. In fact, in an attempt to see what the infection rate is amongst the university population, college students in the Zhejiang province will be given physical examinations. Results from these exams will be able to help in multiple ways, according to Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For one, health departments will be given a more accurate picture of the infection rate. This will, in turn, give health departments a means to architect more specific ways to help control the infection rate and prevent the virus from spreading. This new initiative was spurred when a spot check of 2,000 college students was done at three different universities. Results showed that of the 2,000 students, eight of them carried the virus that causes AIDS. While this put the infection rate at 0.4 percent, it was a wake-up call that many more students could be walking around carrying the virus and unknowingly infecting others with it. The CDC states that in students between the ages of 19 and 23, the number of college students who have contracted the virus is increasing. This was reported in the Zinhua News Agency. A CDC official stated that the main way students were transmitting the disease was through sexual contact. In addition, the official noted that gay males had a higher chance of contracting HIV. As of now, the CDC has not solidified when the physical examinations of the university students will begin, nor have they disclosed how many students would be participating in the new initiative. Statistics from the Hangzhou CDC noted that by May 2010, there were 100 new cases of HIV infections; this rate was an increase of over 7% from the previous year

Original Source of Chinese Universities Ramp Up Sexual Education