Incidence of HIV/AIDS cases involving men who have sex with men has risen fivefold in Shanghai over recent years, medical experts report.

They made the comments at a science forum in Beijing on Thursday designed to raise public awareness of the disease.

Shanghai, the largest metropolis in eastern China, is now carrying out an intervention and education campaign to combat HIV transmission through unsafe sex, they were quoted as saying by Friday's Shanghai Daily. Health authorities are researching the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among gays, bisexuals and female sex workers.