China detains HIV
patients

In an effort to prevent HIV patients from China's Henan province from traveling to Beijing to air their complaints during the nation's annual National People's Congress session, police over the weekend placed 23 HIVers under house arrest, Agence France-Presse reports. The HIV patients were infected through a government-sanctioned blood-buying program in the province, which resulted in thousands of HIV infections. "People infected with HIV through unsafe practices at government clinics have routinely been denied medical treatment and compensation," Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch in Asia, told the news agency. "Now they can't even tell their story to policymakers who might be able to help." (The Advocate)