AIDS rate rising among Phuket youths

PHUKET: -- Recent years have seen a dramatic decrease in the average age of HIV patients in Thailand's southern resort province of Phuket, with youths now representing the highest risk group, the province's chief public health official revealed yesterday.

Dr. Wanchai Satayawuthiphong, who pointed out that Phuket had the second highest per capita rate of HIV infection in the southern region and the sixth highest rate in the country, said that a sharp decline in rates of the virus in the 25-45 age range had been matched by a rise in rates among young people and students.

Warning that the trend appeared to be entrenched, he said that the province was launching a series of campaigns to help protect the youths from HIV infection.

--TNA 2005-03-24

Bangkok home to over 20,000 HIV patients

BANGKOK: -- There are currently around 20,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Bangkok, with nearly 80 percent of infections caused by sexual transmission, according to figures released by the director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s AIDS Control Division yesterday.

Mr. Chavin Sirinak said that accumulated figures from 1984 to the end of February this year showed that 28,270 HIV patients had resided in Bangkok during this period, of whom 20,679 were still alive and 7,591 had died.

The figures also show that 79.09 percent of current infections are a result of sexual transmission, while 63 percent of those infected are in the 25-39 age group, with the highest death rate among those aged 30-34.

The period from 1984 to 2005 also saw 999 AIDS patients under the age of four living in the capital, of whom 272 have already died.

The highest number of new HIV cases in the first three months of this year was in Jomthong district, with 25 new cases, following by Ratburana with 24 cases and Thonburi with 20 cases.

--TNA 2005-03-23

Just doing the math in my head, that comes out to about .2% of the population of the GMBA (greater metropolitan Bkk area). Doesn't that sound a bit low?

Maybe they should put AIDS warnings on the cig packs right next to the cancer warnings.