Cambodian Health authorities diagnosed 212 Cambodians as infected with H.I.V. that was later traced to contaminated equipment used by an unlicensed medic.
Prosecutors charged the medic with murder in December after 212 villagers tested positive for the virus, according to The New York Times.
Health authorities tested 1,940 people in December for the virus in the district in Battambang Province in northwestern Cambodia.
The Cambodian Ministry of Health and World Health Organization said Saturday that the virus had been transmitted through the use of unsterilized tools by an unlicensed medic, the Pakistan Daily Times reported.
Of the 212 infected, 39 people are less than 14 years old, 127 people are between 15 and 59 years old and 46 are 60 years old or older.
The joint statement from the health agencies said 82 percent of the people who tested positive for the virus came from the Roka village, where the medic practiced.
They conducted the tests between Dec. 8 and Dec. 31, and began their investigation Dec. 18 with a team comprising of the Cambodian Ministry of Health, WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNAIDS and Pasteur Institute in Cambodia.
During the investigation they found that the percentage of people who said they received an intravenous or injection as part of their medical care was higher among those who tested positive for H.I.V.
The investigation also examined the other risk factors for the virus such as unprotected sex and injecting drug use, but did not see a significant difference between the two groups.
Of the 212 infected, 161 are registered to receive H.I.V. care services and 78 have started treatment.
Roka residents rushed to get their blood tested after a 74-year-old man alerted the community after he tested positive for the virus in November.
