At the launch event (Photo: VNA) Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) – Anational campaign aiming to raise public awareness of HIV/AIDS as acommunicable disease which could be prevented and controlled was launched inthe southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on December 19.
The Undetectable=Untransmittable (or K=K inVietnamese) event was jointly organised by the management board of theVAAC-US.CDC project, a collaboration between the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDSControl and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fightHIV/AIDS in Vietnam, and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s centre for HIV/AIDSprevention and control.
Addressing the event, US Acting ConsulGeneral in Ho Chi Minh City Timothy Liston affirmed that the“Undetectable=Untransmittable” concept is a significant scientific discoverywhich means that when levels of HIV virus in the blood of patients underAntiretrovaral (ARV) treatment are undetectable, the risk of HIV transmissionvia sexual activities remains very low or negligible.
Therefore, the campaign affirms the benefitof ARV treatment for HIV patients, he added.
The “Undetectable=Untransmittable” message ishoped to eradicate discrimination against people living with the virus andencourage them to stick with the treatment.
However, the finding is only applicable forthe prevention of transmission through sexual activities, not for sharinginjection equipment.
According to Deputy Director of theprovincial Health Department Nguyen Van Thai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau records 4,596people with HIV, with about 2,730 still alive. In 2019 alone, the province saw198 new HIV infections.
Currently, 83.9 percent of people with HIVin the province are aware of their status while 74.4 percent are under ARVtreatment, he noted.
Data show that since the first HIV case wasreported in Vietnam in December 1990, there have been 215,661 people livingwith this virus and 103,616 deaths from HIV/AIDS.
In the first nine months of this year, 7,779people became newly infected with HIV, 2,984 entered the AIDS phase, and 1,428died from relevant illnesses in Vietnam./.
The Undetectable=Untransmittable (or K=K inVietnamese) event was jointly organised by the management board of theVAAC-US.CDC project, a collaboration between the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDSControl and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fightHIV/AIDS in Vietnam, and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s centre for HIV/AIDSprevention and control.
Addressing the event, US Acting ConsulGeneral in Ho Chi Minh City Timothy Liston affirmed that the“Undetectable=Untransmittable” concept is a significant scientific discoverywhich means that when levels of HIV virus in the blood of patients underAntiretrovaral (ARV) treatment are undetectable, the risk of HIV transmissionvia sexual activities remains very low or negligible.
Therefore, the campaign affirms the benefitof ARV treatment for HIV patients, he added.
The “Undetectable=Untransmittable” message ishoped to eradicate discrimination against people living with the virus andencourage them to stick with the treatment.
However, the finding is only applicable forthe prevention of transmission through sexual activities, not for sharinginjection equipment.
According to Deputy Director of theprovincial Health Department Nguyen Van Thai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau records 4,596people with HIV, with about 2,730 still alive. In 2019 alone, the province saw198 new HIV infections.
Currently, 83.9 percent of people with HIVin the province are aware of their status while 74.4 percent are under ARVtreatment, he noted.
Data show that since the first HIV case wasreported in Vietnam in December 1990, there have been 215,661 people livingwith this virus and 103,616 deaths from HIV/AIDS.
In the first nine months of this year, 7,779people became newly infected with HIV, 2,984 entered the AIDS phase, and 1,428died from relevant illnesses in Vietnam./.
VNA
