Phuket Still High In Hiv / Aids Rankings

[george]

Phuket still high in HIV/Aids rankings

PHUKET: -- The island has the fifth-highest reported number of people infected with HIV in the Thailand, and the second-highest in the South, according to the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO).

Eam-on Kittitornkul, Chief of the Aids Division at the PPHO, said that, at the last count, there were 3,729 known cases in the province: a substantial increase from the roughly 2,000 registered cases registered last year.

The rise in reported cases is not necessarily an indication of a higher rate of infection, K. Eam-on said. “When people learn that we have stocks of medicine to treat HIV, they show up in large numbers at the PPHO, so the statistics soar,” she explained.

“Still, if people do not take precautions HIV/Aids could be a serious problem in the next four to five years.”

K. Eam-on said that the PPHO offers Aid s information knowledge and distributes condoms in areas where teenagers gather.

Most sufferers are between 25 and 39 years old, she said, with 88.6% of cases stemming from sexual relations and 4.28 % from sharing syringes. Another 2.45% of cases consist of children contracting the disease from their mothers, while still in the womb. K. Eam-on did not reveal what the causes of the remaining 4.67% cases were.

Ranong has the highest number of HIV-infected people in Thailand, followed by Chiang Rai, Trat, Phayao and Phuket.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-11-23

[hopeless]

Im relieved to read Pattaya isnt on the list!

[JRinger]

Thailand death toll from Aids reaches 560,000

(dpa)

The acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (Aids) epidemic has claimed the lives of 560,000 Thais in the past two decades, with another 540,000 people still living with HIV/Aids, a senior health official said today.

While Thailand has earned international praise for its comprehensive anti-Aids campaign, which has included education programs and passing out free condoms to high risk groups, health officials acknowledged Wednesday that the HIV/Aids threat is raising its ugly head again.

"This year there have been 18,000 new cases of HIV, with 77 per cent of them working age people between the ages of 20 to 39, and 84 per cent of them contracting the virus sexually," said Deputy Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul, at a press conference to mark the upcoming World Aids Day on Dec 1.

Anutin said a worrisome trend was an increase in the new infection rate among Thai teenagers between 15 to 19 years old.

His worries were echoed by Mechai Viravaidya, the country's best known anti-Aids camapigner.

"For the past 11 years Thailand successfully reduced new infections by 90 per cent, but surveys conducted over the last two years show an increase of new infections of 30 per cent, mostly among teenagers," said Mr Mechai, a senator and founder of the Population and Community Development Association. He blasted the government for failing to continue its anti-Aids education campaigns and free-condom programs.

"The free condom program has disappeared along with other campaigns, making young people think the Aids problem has gone away, while the opposite is true," said Mechai.

Anutin promised the government would revive its free condom programme next year, providing 24 million free condoms to high risk groups such as sex workers, migrant labourers and people already infected with HIV.

The government has also set a goal of promoting the use of condoms among teenagers by selling cheap prophylactics at 10 baht (25 cents) for a package of three and by providing more condom vending machines nationwide.