HIV carriers up in Vietnam

HIV carriers up in Vietnam

HANOI (Reuters): A growing number of people in Vietnam have been infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which has now spread to all but two of the country's provinces, an official said on Thursday.

The official from the National AIDS Protection Committee said statistics showed 10,119 cases of HIV, while more than 1,240 people had full-blown AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. She said a further 674 people had died from AIDS.

Vietnam has 58 provinces and the capital Hanoi, Danang in the center of the country and Ho Chi Minh City in the south have province-like status. The two provinces free of HIV are in remote northern areas.

Unofficial estimates put the number of people carrying HIV, which leads to AIDS, much higher.