Hiv In Thailand

Young wives at high risk of contracting HIV says health ministry

Pattaya Mail 19 october 2007

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk

Thailand’s young wives are at high risk of contracting AIDS, says the Ministry of Public Health, owing to their partners straying and not using condoms.

Dr Mongkol na Songkla, Minister of Public Health.

The ministry puts the risk factor at high for at least 45 percent of young single people and young married women.

A seminar was staged on October 5 at Pattaya City Hall by the ministry in association with the National Health Insurance Bureau in the Rayong area, the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center, and the ITV television station.

The purpose of the seminar was to exchange opinions, experiences and advice on the treatment of HIV-related medical problems. Dr Mongkol na Songkla, Minister of Public Health chaired the seminar, which was attended by Chonburi hospital officers.

Dr Mongkol said that in 2007 the accumulated data showed that there were 1,102,628 AIDS cases in Thailand, of which 546,576 were still alive. During this year, 14,000 new patients have been recorded. The majority are teenagers and housewives, in the latter case 45 percent having contracted the HIV virus from their spouses.

The results of data for 2006 from the Epidemiology Bureau on HIV prevention amongst pre-college students found that 21 percent of juveniles had sexual experience, and that 12 percent were female. Only 25 percent of Thai juveniles used condoms, of which 11 percent were female. This was because they trusted their sexual partners.

The number of patients receiving anti-HIV medicine is continuously increasing. In August this year, 138,726 patients took anti-HIV medicine under the care of the Ministry of Public Health.