HIV infections

Officials said that a technician reused a tube used to treat an individual with HIV on other patients.

Provincial authorities described it as a "severe violation of procedure".

Five people had been sacked at Hangzhou's Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, they said.

Provincial health officials said they were informed of the situation on 26 January.

That was the limit of her formal sex education. For millions of young Chinese people, it's more than they ever got.

As China marks World AIDS Day Thursday, the effects of that missing knowledge is more evident than ever, with growing numbers of HIV infections and staggeringly high abortion rates.

No protection

In 2015, there were 115,000 new HIV infections in China, according to China's National Center for STD/AIDS Prevention and Control. Of those, 17,000, or 14.7%, were in the 15-24 age group.

Administration officials are aiming for a 25 percent infection reduction in females between ages 15-24 by the end of next year and a 40 percent reduction by the end of 2017.

"No greater action is needed right now than empowering adolescent girls and young women to defeat HIV/AIDS," National Security Adviser Susan Rice said.