An AIDS vaccine produced in China, has started to be tested on humans. According to a report of the New China News Agency, the first volunteer for the first test is a 20-year-old in the autonomous region of Guangxi Zhuang in the south of the country.

One of the experts of an AIDS control and treatment center in the region, Chen Cie said seven more people including 4 women had been vaccinated .The volunteers will be under observation for six months.

The expert said that the vaccinated people were chosen from 49 applicants whose ages range between 18-50. Chen recorded that the first 14 months of three rounds of staged clinical experiments has been completed and the Immune system and the reliability of the vaccine will be tested in the second stage.

According to official figures, 840,000 people live with HIV in China.

PHOTO CAPTION

People await a train at a Beijing subway station. (AFP)