China warned Sunday that AIDS was spreading rapidly in the country and ordered urgent measures including school education and public awareness campaigns to help keep the virus in check.

The State Council, or cabinet, in a 12-page circular to all levels of government, also said local officials would be judged by their efforts in prevention and control.

“Those officials breaching duty or hiding epidemic reports will be severely punished,” Xinhua quoted the circular as saying.

The cabinet circular was the latest move in a government effort to curb the disease that picked up last year, after years of ignoring or hiding a growing epidemic.

China has faced international condemnation for disguising the scale of its AIDS epidemic, neglecting patients and arresting activists and journalists.

But last year, Premier Wen Jiabao became the first top Chinese leader to shake hands with an AIDS patient and the government sent health workers to the central province of Henan where villages were ravaged by botched blood selling schemes in the 1990s.

China, alongside India and Russia, is one of the countries most at risk from AIDS outside Africa and health agencies say it could have 10 million victims by 2010 if it fails to take the threat seriously.

Railway, aviation and other public transportation departments were ordered to publicize AIDS prevention to passengers, and entertainment venues were required to post or distribute education materials to customers.

Medical workers were required to advise patients on AIDS prevention and condom use, and pregnant women would get free prevention services to reduce the possibility of mother-to-infant transmission.

“Research and production of new anti-AIDS medicines will be stepped up as the government will inject more funds into AIDS prevention and treatment,” Xinhua quoted the circular as saying.

State media at the weekend also published a speech by Vice Premier Wu Yi from April in which she warned the epidemic may spread from high-risk groups to the mainstream and that “the consequences will be very grave” if China fails to act.

“The epidemic situation of AIDS in China is still severe at present,” Wu said. “Prevention work is at a crucial stage.”

Official figures show China has 840,000 infected with HIV, of which 80,000 have AIDS. Activists estimate the extent of the outbreak is far higher, saying more than one million are probably infected in Henan alone.