Beijing, Nov 28: Around 17,740 people have died in China this year due to AIDS, the country's health authority announced Wednesday.
The figure from January to October is a 8.6 percent increase year-on-year, Xinhua reported.
The ministry of health said 34,157 new AIDS cases were reported in China in the 10 months, up by 12.7 percent year-on-year.
HIV cases have risen among people aged 15 to 24 and those over 50.
In total, China had 492,191 cases of HIV/AIDS by the end of October.
Sexual transmission has become the primary cause of the spread of HIV, and sex between men registered a sharp increase, the ministry said.
Of the new cases in the 10-month period, 85 percent contracted the virus through sex.
