At Least You've Got Your Health

Let's dust off this blog, shall we? I finally have a definitive work schedule, so I should finally have something to write about. As this is my first post in two weeks, I felt that it should be a good one. And it is.

So I had to undergo a medical checkup last week (yes, another one). It was just as pleasant as last time (though I was at least able to pick out the tests they didn't perform: vaccination and gynecology). However, that is not the main point of this post.

In the clinic, there was a television showing assorted health-related PSAs. Among them were ads for an HIV testing and prevention campaign. This campaign is pretty widespread - I'd seen them previously in the train stations during my trip. So I got curious. Is HIV/AIDS a problem in the PRC?

Well, at first glance, it's not. The prevalence of HIV in mainland China is only about 0.1%. That's much less than the United States - in fact, according to some estimates, there are fewer people in China with HIV/AIDS than there are in the States, period. So it's a governmental overreaction, right?

As it turns out, no. While the prevalence of HIV in China is relatively low, the rate of new infections and deaths are both on the rise. From the article:

An official report published in February 2009 stated that in 2008, for the first time, HIV/AIDS was China's leading cause of death among infectious diseases. Nearly 7,000 people died from the disorder in the first nine months of 2008, a substantial increase – until three years prior to this, the total cumulative mortality was less than 8,000.

That's quite a jump, no? You're probably wondering what is causing this. The Wikipedia article actually has a lot on that, and it's rather interesting. However, here's the Reader's Digest version:

Much of the current spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China has been through intravenous drug use and prostitution.

Prostitution! Ask me if I'm shocked.

I've never written about prostitution, a serious oversight on my part. For now, let's just say that it's quite prevalent and that some of my more degenerate workmates have left big chunks of their paychecks in Changchun's "massage parlors."

That, however, is a topic for a later time. I'll conclude by noting that, in light of this, these checkups seem very rational. Can't say that I'm pleased (I don't mess around with hookers) but I understand fully.