Relevant agencies in Vietnam should encourage people to take suitable precautionary HIV/AIDS prevention measures.

The recommendation was made by the 2008 Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine,Prof. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, who made great contributions todetecting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1983, at a seminar onHIV/AIDS in Hanoi on November 27. She endorsed regular health check-upsand early HIV testing as ways to identify and treat the disease in atimely manner, as well as protect others.

As a coordinator of the action programme of the French National Agencyfor HIV/AIDS Research in Southeast Asia (ANRS), Sinoussi acknowledgedVietnam’s efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment as well as inhelping people living with HIV reintegrate into the community.

She, however, said the fact that people still hesitate to have theirblood tested for early detecting HIV/AIDS infection will hinder thecountry’s ability to prevent the disease.

At present, many scientific advancements are being applied to treatAIDS patients. However, if prevention efforts are not given dueattention, the disease will re-emerge strongly, even in rich countries,she said.

For her efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention research activities in Vietnam ,the French scientist was awarded the Medal for Public Health by theVietnamese State in March 2009.

Since its first recorded case in 1990, Vietnam has seen more than156,800 HIV/AIDS-infections, resulting in over 44,200 deaths./.