‘No HIV outbreak’ in Kandal village, say WHO, local authorities

[geovalin]

Daniel de Carteret

Following consternation this week over the government’s decision to cease HIV testing in Peam village, health authorities released a statement yesterday seeking to ally any fears of an outbreak. In January, five of 47 villagers tested by a local NGO returned positive results, with nine more receiving positive diagnoses soon after from a local hospital. This prompted broader testing by health authorities on Monday, which returned four positive results from a sample of 279 people.

Government authorities drew the ire of several local NGOs this week after they said that there would be no further testing in the village, despite two-thirds of the village remaining untested and a prevalence rate uncovered of just under 1.6 per cent. The national average is 0.6 per cent. But the Ministry of Health yesterday released a joint statement with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, stating that they had reviewed Monday’s test results and had found that “The data is not indicative of an HIV outbreak.”

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national

[Gonsalviz]

I trust the government, NOT!!

[Sheryl]

I think what they mean is that routine screening of the entire village population will not be carried out. There is nothing to stop any and all villagers from actively seeking and receiving an HIV test if they want one.

Epidemiological investigations have found that all those infected had known risk factors. Nothing to suggest it is anything like what happened out in Battambang, where infants, elderly etc were infected. These were conducted and/or reviewed by experts from international organizations.

While the national prevalence rate is <0.6, there is considerable geographical variation and some areas are of course higher.

In addition, prevalence rates when calculated for a small village population aren't very meaningful.