24 exposed to HIV after deadly road crash in Vietnam

Health authorities in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum have put 24 people on medication for HIV exposure after they came into physical contact with a woman carrying the virus while they were attempting to rescue victims of a recent road crash.

The woman was among four people killed in a head-on collision between two cars in Kon Tum on Friday afternoon. Police are yet to establish the cause of the accident.

Among those exposed were 17 doctors and nurses, while the rest were local residents.

They will receive free medication for at least one month and regular medical checks over the next three months, the province's health department said.

The health ministry has also asked Kon Tum's health department to identify and punish a doctor who refused to provide free antiretroviral drugs to a man who helped carry the woman to hospital, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

Vietnam had more than 215,600 people with HIV as of November last year, according to figures from the ministry.