China says 264,000 have HIV/AIDS

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- An estimated 264,302 Chinese are living with HIV or AIDS, the country's Ministry of Health said Sunday.

"The spread of AIDS has generally slowed down in China, but factors for widespread still remain in some areas," said Wang Weizhen, deputy director of the ministry's HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment department.

HIV infection was most prevalent among migrant workers and in some remote rural areas, reported Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

The majority of those infected had contracted the virus through sex, Wang said.