BEIJING, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Battling widespread ignorance of the virus that causes AIDS, China is debating whether to allow an HIV patient to speak publicly about the disease for the first time, state media reported on Monday.

An unidentified patient has put his name forward to speak at a China conference on AIDS prevention in November, but organisers are in a quandary over whether to allow him to do so for fear of the social repercussions, the media reports said.

No HIV/AIDS sufferer has ever spoken out officially in China, and patients seen on television and in magazine articles have never revealed their true identities, the Beijing Morning Post said.

"Many AIDS sufferers are looked down on once they reveal their predicament, so organisers of the event have reason to worry," it reported.

"Someone trying to lead a brave life could meet many obstacles for revealing his situation."

China is making slow progress in dealing with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It has acknowledged that large swathes of the population know alarmingly little about it.

In a rare admission of the problem, the government said in August that reported HIV infections had surged 67.4% year on year, to 3,541 new cases in the first half of 2001.

Although the number of reported cases is relatively small--the real figure may be much higher--experts say social and economic changes and a sharp increase in sexually transmitted diseases suggest the potential for more sex-related cases.

The disease has remained taboo. China's first attempt at advertising AIDS prevention almost fell through because the actors were afraid of taking part in the campaign, the Post said.

One study at a Beijing university found that 40% of 800 students asked would not sit next to someone with AIDS.

While Chinese law protects the rights of HIV/AIDS victims in work, marriage and education, enforcement is not good, according to the Post.

TEN MILLION BY 2010

The government has laid out plans to ensure the total number of HIV infections amounts to fewer than 1.5 million by 2010. Health experts say much work needs to be done in a country that lacks the necessary human and financial resources.

The UN says China could have 10 million HIV/AIDS sufferers by 2010 unless it acts decisively. Health ministry officials say 600,000 may have the disease already, higher than the officially reported 26,058 cases that had accumulated as of June.

Intravenous drug use accounted for about 70% of the reported cases, heterosexual contact for around 7%, and 21% were due to unknown reasons, Xinhua news agency said. The government does not publish statistics related to homosexuality.

Government figures show that 6% of reported HIV cases from 1998 to June 2001 stemmed from blood donations.

State media said earlier this year that donations to illegal blood banks had led to some villages in the northern province of Henan registering HIV infection rates of up to 65%.

Farmers sold blood for 40 yuan ($5) to buying stations--some run by local government officials--which pooled the donations in a large tub and extracted the valuable plasma.

The remains were then pumped back into the donors.

In August, China earmarked 100 million yuan ($12.1 million) annually to curb the spread of HIV and fund treatment, an amount many think falls far short of the sum required to help battle the virus.

　　From ReutersHealth.com