HIV-infected parcels found in Beijing's delivery system

Beijing's quarantine authority is warning against the mailing of unauthorized dangerous substances through the postal or parcel delivery service after HIV-antigens were found in two regular packages.

Zhou Xiaoping, a quarantine officer in charge of air delivery services at Beijing Capital International Airport, said on Wednesday that about 29,400 international parcels and luggage containing dangerous and illegal substances were intercepted at the airport during the first three quarters of this year, a 2.1 percent increase from last year.

Among them, around 1,100 pest-infested items were found in parcels and luggage brought to Beijing. A variety of non-Chinese species, including Pratylenchus vulnus, a parasitic worm responsible for root lesion disease in plants, have been detected in the parcels.