Hoang Dinh Canh, deputy head of the Ministry of Health’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Department, said dozens of people in Kim Thuong Commune, Tan Son District were worried about the HIV/AIDS infection risk due to sharing the same needles at a local private clinic.
A woman infected with HIV in Kim Thuong Commune
Representatives from HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Department and the Ministry of Health have come to the locality to assure the people and provide free blood tests. Anyone found to have contracted HIV will be given early free treatment.
Around one month ago, a 59-year-old woman in Kim Thuong Commune was diagnosed as HIV positive. She was extremely shocked at the news as she only stayed at home with farming work, while her husband was tested negative for HIV. So, she did not know why she could be infected with the virus.
The woman said that earlier he used to get injections at the clinic owned by a doctor who was working at Tan Son District General Hospital.
Kim Thuong is a remote area, so when local residents have health problems, they often come to this clinic, instead of coming to hospitals.
Local people suspected that the doctor might have used the same needles among patients, which would be the cause of HIV injection for the woman.
Many people who got injections at the clinic have been tested for HIV and two among those have been found to be infected with the virus.
According to Phu Tho Department of Health, two patients died of AIDS at the provincial General Hospital between February and June. Both of them are from Kim Thuong Commune. The hospital also received four new HIV/AIDS patients during the period.
Further investigation into the case are being conducted.
