Cambodian villagers want to kill medical practitioner who allegedly spread HIV with infected needles

By Lindsey Bever December 19 at 3:29 AM  

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen. (AFP/Ahn Young-joon/Getty Images)

Cambodian authorities have put into protective custody an unlicensed health worker who villagers are threatening to kill, believing he used contaminated needles that spread HIV to more than 100 people.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for calm on Thursday in Roka, a remote village in western Battambang province where more than 800 were tested for the virus — and, health officials said, 106 were found to have it.

Villagers are blaming the outbreak on the health worker, who went missing amid the accusations against him, the Phnom Penh Post reported. When he returned, police took him into protective custody, noting he has not been accused of a crime.

Still, some are out for blood.

“If the other villagers and I see [him], then we will kill him,” Seoum Chhorm, who allegedly tested positive for HIV along with his wife and two grandchildren, told the newspaper. “Police cannot stop us killing him.”

But authorities are still grappling with the accuracy of the results. Even after calling for an investigation on Thursday, the prime minister expressed doubt about testing equipment.

“So far, I 99 percent do not believe that it’s AIDS,” he said during a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education, according toCambodia Daily. ” … Is an 80-year-old person infected with AIDS? And are young children infected with AIDS too? So, we don’t need to make a quick conclusion. We must use all available technological resources.”

Roka’s HIV outbreak reportedly started in November, when a 74-year-old man tested positive at a local clinic, followed by his granddaughter and son-in-law. Teng Kunthy, head of the Health Ministry’s HIV/AIDS center, said 106 people out of some 800 tested in Roka had the virus. Medical experts from the United States and United Nations were deployed to the village on Tuesday to examine the test results and provide free HIV testing. They said they need time “to determine the source, extent and chain oftransmission of HIV infection.”

The Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said in a statement that some found to have the virus were treated by the unlicensed practitioner. On Thursday, police searched the man’s home for evidence, finding empty vials used to inject saline, glucose and vitamin B12 as well as some 20 needle tips.

Didier Fontenille, with the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, told the Phnom Penh Post his lab was handling some blood sample testing and, out of 30 samples retested so far, all were positive.

“It is without doubt,” he said. “It is definitive … the [Health Ministry’s] tests were well-done.”

Other officials disagreed.

“We cannot say that they are positive [readings],” said Mean Chhi Vun, director of Cambodia’s National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs. “They are reactive results, not positive. More tests are needed.”

The Ministry urged calm.

“Avoid listening to or spreading rumors,” Mam Bunheng, Cambodia’s health minister, said, according to Agence France-Presse. “We should also fully respect the privacy of the affected families and ensure they do not face stigma and discrimination.”

Lindsey Bever is a national news reporter for The Washington Post. She writes for the Morning Mix news blog. Tweet her: @lindseybever