50% of new HIV infection cases recorded among MSM group
VOV.VN - Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at major risk of HIV transmission in Vietnam, with 50% of new infections detected in the group, warned the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control under the Ministry of Health, at a press briefing in Hanoi on November 17.
The first nine months this year saw 9,025 people test positive for the virus, while 1,378 died of the syndrome, said the administration.
Unsafe sexual activities remain the main method of HIV transmission in the country, with men accounting for 86% of new cases this year, said the official, adding MSM is the group at most risk of HIV transmission in Vietnam.
Over the past three years, new infections have increased by between 13,000 and 14,000 annually. The majority of them are in the southern region, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta region making up 28% and 26% respectively.
According to Vo Hai Son of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control, the goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030 will be difficult to achieve without reducing infections among MSM and young adults who have unsafe sexual activities.
Localities across the country should diversify communications on HIV/AIDS through websites and social media networks as part of efforts to detect new HIV cases, take antiretroviral drug (ARV), and reduce HIV transmission within the community, said Son.
Currently approximately 242,000 people are living with HIV in Vietnam, and as many as 112,368 people have so far died of the virus.
Globally, roughly 30.8 million people are living with HIV. In 2021, about 1.5 million people became newly infected with the virus and 650 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.