More than 10 people in a village in the southern province of Ben Tre have tested positive for HIV, however the cause of infection has not yet been found.
Despite being infected with HIV, V.V.B still works hard to support his family
The farmers in Phu Dang Village, Ngai Dang Commune, Mo Cay Nam District are themselves shocked at the positive HIV test results, saying that they have never had sex with prostitutes or used drugs. They say their lives consist mainly of farming work.
Mr. V.V.B, a local resident said, “I hope that the media can help us focus attention on our problem so that the authorities will take action to find out what is the cause of this epidemic."
He added that besides him, his step farther and his younger brother also contracted the disease.
According to the commune police, by the end of 2012, Phu Dang Village had 11 people who tested positive to HIV, all of them are men. Among those, Mr. Van Ch., 59 years old, was the first case.
Private physician suspected
The HIV carriers have voiced suspicion about a local physician as being the cause for the infections. He runs a clinic, but has no license to do so.
Mr. B. said he, his step farther and his younger brother are all infected with HIV. He claims that they visited the physicians house for injections to treat flu-related pain.
Nguyen Thi D, Van Ch.’s daughter, said that her father suffered from kidney disease and often visited the physician for injections.
11 HIV patients in the village signed in a petition to the provincial People’s Committee to ask local authorities for an investigation, including the suspicion about the physician’s injection.
HIV patients in Mo Cay Nam District are receiving free treatment from the city's Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control
Dr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Health said, the department halted the investigation because it was not easy to identify the cause. Currently, the department is focusing on raising people’s awareness on dangers of the disease and the ways of transmission in order to mitigate its spread in the community.
According to the Ben Tre Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, Ngai Dang Commune now has 21 HIV patients, of which two have died and eight have developed AIDS.
