152 l Fabio Mesquita 10 HIV in Viet Nam* FABIO MESQUITA, DAVID JACKA, KEITH SABIN, MASAYA KATO, NGUYEN THI MINH THU, VAN T. T. NGUYEN AND NGUYEN THIEN NGA The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, a South-East Asian country with a population of nearly 87 million (2009), borders the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia to the west, and the People’s Republic of China to the north. The first recorded case of HIV infection was in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in 1990; thereafter, more than 180,000 HIV cases, over 42,000 AIDS cases and 48,000 AIDS-related deaths have been recorded (VAAC 2010). In 2009 alone, there were 15,713 newly reported HIV cases and 2,010 AIDS-related deaths (ibid.). The epidemic spread simultaneously among people who inject drugs (PWID)—mainly heroin injectors—and female sex work- ers (FSWs), in the capital Ha Noi and other major cities—HCMC, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. Many early recorded transmissions among FSWs also occurred in the southern provinces, which are the areas for tourism and business. Similarly, early recorded transmission between PWID suggested a migration across the provinces bordering Cambodia in the south-west. Following * WHO Viet Nam acknowledges the contribution of Ms Cao Thi Hue Chi, who, on behalf of VAAC, revised the current chapter and gave very relevant inputs. We also acknowledge WHO intern Thomas Foxwell for valuable help in editing Narain Book.indb 152 12-Jun-12 5:07:24 PM