The major force driving the epidemic in Asia is heterosexual transmission. With a population of nearly 3.5 billion, the Asia-Pacific region has the potential to greatly influence the course of the global epidemic. Because of it size and rapid changes in social and sexual behaviours during the past decade, China potentially represents a major focus of the HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region. Almost half a million people in a population of over 1 billion are estimated to be HIV-positive. The bulk of new infections appear to be concentrated among injecting drug users.
Transmission is primarily through use of shared infected needles.
India With a population of one billion, greater than the entire population of Africa, the HIV epidemics in India will have a major impact on the overall spread of HIV both in the region and worldwide. India has the highest number of HIV infections in the world. At present, it is estimated that some 3.7 million Indians have HIV or AIDS, but the patterns of transmission in the country vary widely. In some states, especially in the south and west of the country, HIV has a significant grip on the urban population, with over 1 in 50 pregnant women testing HIV-positive. In the northeast, HIV infection has sped through networks of drug injectors, and from them to their wives.