AsianScientist (Dec. 24, 2014) – More than 100 out of the 9,000 residents of a Cambodian village have tested positive for HIV. Ranging from 3 to 82 years old, they are thought to have been infected by an unlicensed doctor who re-used needles.
First detected in late November after a 74 year old man tested positive for HIV, the unusually large number of cases in the Roka Commune of Battambang province has sparked panic among the community, causing more than 800 to come forward for testing.
“It has been confirmed three times by different techniques. Around 90 [people] have tested positive,” Dr. Didier Fontenille, director of the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia told Al Jazeera.
According to Reuters sources, a 55-year old man by the name of Yem Chrrin has been charged with murder and practicing medicine without a license. Facing death threats, he was taken into police custody over the weekend for questioning and his own protection.
“I call for a thorough investigation into the issue,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a televised speech, urging tests of the equipment used to verify the patients have contracted HIV.
The mass infections come as a blow to Cambodia which recently announced intentions to have a zero percent infection rate by 2020. Since an outbreak which swept through the country in the 1990’s, Cambodia has managed to reduce the rate of HIV infection among people aged 15 to 49 from 0.6 percent in 2013 to 0.4 percent in 2014.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Shutterstock.
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