Highly Contagious AIDS-Like Disease Spreading in China

By Chen Yilian

Epoch Times Staff

A poster to promote AIDS awareness ahead of World AIDS Day in Beijing. A highly contagious AIDS-like disease is spreading in China, However, HIV tests come up negative.

In a small hotel across from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 
a reporter from New Express Daily, dressed in an isolation suit, interviewed a dozen 
“unusual” patients from different areas of China. Their symptoms are painful and 
debilitating, and AIDS-like, but repeated tests for HIV have come up negative.

Lin Jun, one of the patients interviewed in the March 24 New Express Daily report, 

said he used to be chubby, but now he is skin and bones, and his joints have become 

all deformed.

Lin is referred to in the group as “big brother” for his kindness and giving fellow 

patients hope when they feel hopeless, with some having considered suicide.

In 2008 Lin’s mother received a blood transfusion at a hospital. Afterwards, 

she experienced frequent night sweats, numb limbs, aches all over, creaking joints, 

rashes on her hands, and weight loss.

In May of that year, Lin accidentally became infected through contact with his mother’s 

blood. Fourteen days later, he fell ill with swollen lymph nodes on his neck, sore knees 

that made clicking sounds, and pain all over his body. He also started vomiting after 

every meal, and the left side of his face swelled up. In half a year, his weight dropped 

from 82 kilograms (181 lbs) to 52 kilograms (115 lbs).

Three months later, his wife and child developed the same symptoms.

Lin said he went to every major hospital in Shanghai, but could not get a definite 

diagnosis. He has taken the HIV test eight times, and each time the test turned out 

negative.

Then he found an Internet blog called “The Negative Group,” which he learned stands 

for “HIV negative.” He realized that writing on this blog were all people like himself, 

with the same kinds of symptoms, desperate to find a cure.

Several Chinese media have recently reported that the Department of Health of 

Guangdong Province has confirmed that people in Beijing, Shanghai, and 

Guangdong have fallen ill after being infected with an unknown virus. The 

patients think they have AIDS, but they test negative for HIV.

Guangdong has organized clinical experts, epidemiologists and psychologists to 

work together on these cases. The Health Ministry has also selected six 

provinces with more patients, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, 

Jiangsu and Guangdong, to conduct epidemiological studies, but there are no 

results yet, the reports said.

In most of the 30 cases investigated by New Express Daily for its March 24 

report, people said their relatives and friends are also infected. Most of the 30 

patients were infected through sexual contact. Some experts diagnosed them 

as having AIDS phobia.

However, the disease seems to be highly contagious and can spread by 

contact via any bodily fluid—throughkissing, shared utensils, sweat, and 

even protected sex. Once infected, the immune system appears to be 

attacked, which results in a decrease of white blood cells and the body’s ability 

to defend against infectious disease and foreign materials.

In the past, official health agencies have only conducted HIV tests on 

these patients and have not checked for other, similarly pathological viruses. 

With HIV results coming up negative, many patients then stopped taking 

protective measures with their relatives. Subsequently, all their relatives 

and friends were infected, many have said.

One infected man told The Epoch Times that the disease is highly infectious 

and hard to prevent. His wife and two-year-old child both appear to have it. 

The child has lip and skin blood spots, he said.

A retired officer in his 40’s told The Epoch Times for a previous June 16, 2010 

report that he had been infected with a disease with similar symptoms in 2009, 

at a get-together at a friend’s house. “I thought it was just a cold at the time, 

so I still participated in all kind of gatherings. Consequently, over 100 of 

my comrades in the army, relatives and friends were infected by me,” he said.

chinareports@epochtimes.com

Read the original  Chinese article.