Mysterious mass HIV infection hits 90 villagers in Cambodia

At least 90 villagers in a small village in northwest Cambodia have contracted HIV in a mysterious mass infection. The situation has been confirmed by a third round of tests carried out by authorities.

Two daughters with their mother who is dying from HIV/AIDS in Cambodia, Photo: Asia Society via healthspace.asia 

According to Aljazeera, officials from the country’s National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD disclosed that 106 villagers, including elderly people and 19 children under the age of 15, had tested positive for HIV in Roka, tiny community of about 9,000 rural farmers.

Dr Didier Fontenille, director of the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia, was quoted as saying that three tests on samples sent from Roka commune in Battambang province, tested positive on all occasions, adding that “around 90 people have tested positive” and tests on the rest will be concluded on Saturday.

News of th infection’s spread has prompted local villagers to go for testing.

Speculations of unreliable testing has however been raised as a likely reason for the high number. This was further accentuated by Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen.

In a speech on Thursday, 

 “It is not that we do not believe in our doctors and our equipment, but it is hard to believe”