A four-year-old girl is the latest of more than 200 residents of a remote Cambodian village who have tested positive for HIV, baffling health officials
The cause of the outbreak in Roka commune in the western province of Battambang is unknown although Cambodian officials have pointed the finger at an unlicensed Cambodian doctor who has admitted re-using needles and syringes on patients.
The World Health Organisation, UNAIDS and Cambodia’s Health Ministry are investigating how more than 200 of the 1700 people living in the commune have tested positive for HIV since testing began early in December.
Residents panicked and rushed to be tested after a 74-year-old man inexplicably tested positive for the virus at a local health clinic.
The number of those infected in the village is continuing to grow with five people testing positive on Monday, including the baby and two women aged 81 and 83, the Cambodia Daily reported.
Investigators have been questioning villagers to try to establish what caused the outbreak in the country that has been hailed for its effects in tackling HIV/AIDS.
Masami Fujita, the World Health Organisation’s chief in Cambodia, declined to specify what questions were asked of villages but he said all possible causes of HIV transmission were being considered.
Cambodian authorities have charged the unlicensed doctor Yem Chhrin, 55, who had practised in the commune for 21 years, with committing murder with a “cruel act”.
He faces a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.