Nearly 1,000 Vietnamese employees have been infected with HIV/AIDS now, compared with only 20 in 2001.

The figures were released at a recent seminar on introducing a booklet entitled "Guidelines for HIV/AIDS prevention at workplaces " issued by the Vietnam Labor Confederation and the International Labor Organization, local newspaper Labor reported Tuesday.

Vietnam is estimated to have some 241,000 HIV carriers, most of them men. Sixty percent of the cases contract the disease after having sex with infected prostitutes or sharing injecting syringes with infected drug addicts, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Vietnam aims to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection rate among its 82- million population to below 0.3 percent by 2010, and keep it unchanged after 2020.

To this end, the country has intensified publicity about HIV/ AIDS with contents including encouraging youths to use "ABC" preventive approach (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use) and keep away from such evils as drug addiction and prostitution.

Source: Xinhua