The increase of HIV infection rates among the youth in China is so alarming that a university is now selling HIV testing kits in their vending machines.
Southwest Petroleum University in the Sichuan Province in China is now selling these urine test kits which cost $4.40 alongside the snacks and drinks in their machines. The province is among the top three provinces with the highest cases of HIV and AIDS, according to the China's 2015 AIDS report.
The HIV testing kits are being used by the students by taking their own urine samples and sending them back to the lab for testing, according to the medical center of the university. The entire procedure is anonymous and the testers can access the results online.
According to Asiawire, this initiative has basically materialized in order to fight the rapid increase in the infection rates of the HIV among Chinese youth. Over half a million of the Chinese population are actually battling with the disease at present, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
HIV can be very serious as it can result in a life threatening disease called AIDS which weakens your body's immune system to be able to fight off virus. It can be transmitted to another person through body fluids including blood and semen.
The spread of the disease is mostly observed among the young Chinese men who engage in sex with the same gender. In fact, 80% of the total infection rates happened from these same sex encounters, according to the report of AsiaWire.
The significant growth in numbers of the HIV infected patients is really alarming. Experts say that the growing problem in HIV is primarily because of the lack of sex education, and awareness about HIV and AIDS.
