Vietnam detected 12,700 HIV carriers last year, a slight decrease over 2004, local newspaper People's Army reported Monday.

As of early 2006, Vietnam is estimated to have some 260,000 HIV cases, of whom 103,000 have been identified, the newspaper quoted statistics from the country's Health Ministry.

On average, every 75 local households have one family members having HIV, mostly men, the report said. Many of the HIV carriers contracted the disease after having sex with infected prostitutes or sharing injecting syringes with infected drug addicts.

The Vietnamese government, in late 2005, decided to offer monthly allowances worth at least 65,000 Vietnamese dong (4.1 U.S. dollars) to local poor people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee has urged relevant agencies to step up HIV/AIDS prevention, along with intensified fights against drug addiction and prostitution, and fostered socio-economic development.

The agencies are beefing up 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.

Vietnam plans to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection rate among its 83-million population to below 0.3 percent by 2010, and keep it unchanged after 2020.

Source: Xinhua