BEIJING - China's health authority announced on Wednesday that HIV rates have risen among people aged 15 to 24 and those over 50.

From January to October, 16,131 new cases of HIV infections among citizens over 50 were reported, marking a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent. There were also 9,514 new cases of HIV reported among young people aged 15 to 24, up 12.8 percent year on year, according to figures from the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The MOH said the HIV/AIDS epidemic is rampant in some locations and among certain groups of people.

In total, China reported 492,191 cases of HIV/AIDS by the end of October, and 68,802 of these were new cases reported this year, according to the MOH.

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