School's discrimination illegal

That a senior high school in Hebei province recently refused to enroll a teenage girl because she had tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus, even though local authorities claimed to have arranged a suitable school for her, underscores the urgent need to eliminate the ingrained prejudice against those carrying the virus.

The girl was found to be HIV-positive when she was 2 years old, after her mother died of AIDS, having contracted the virus from a blood transfusion using unscreened blood at a local hospital.

The school cited her failure to provide "personal information" as an excuse for not admitting the girl, but insiders said the real reason was their concern that she might infect others.