More targeted approaches are needed to fight the increasing threat of HIV/AIDS among Chinese students aged 15 to 24, a senior health official said.

"To contain the spread of HIV among youths, more forceful and targeted approaches are urgently needed, such as large-scale screening projects - like the one being carried out in Henan province - as well as high-profile peer education," Wu Zunyou, director of the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention, told China Daily.

"Securing sufferers' privacy and rights also remains key," he said.