Teenagers More Likely To Contract HIV Or AIDS

DISEASE CONTROL DEPARTMENT : TEENAGERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO CONTRACT HIV/AIDS

Director of the Disease Control Department, Dr. Thawat Suntarajarn (ธวัช สุนทราจารย์) indicates that teenagers, aged between 15-19 years old, are more prone to contract HIV/AIDS. Dr. Thawat said that currently there are about 40.6 million HIV-AIDS infected patients, adding that this year, there are almost 5 million new patients. He said that more than half of the patients are aged between 15-24 years old.

Dr. Thawat said that now there are about 1.1 million AIDS patients in Thailand, 560,000 of which have died from the disease. He said that 77% of new AIDS patients in Thailand are workers aged between 20-39 years old. He added that the most important reason for their infection is unprotected sexual intercourses.

Dr. Thawat expressed concern that teenagers are now more likely to contract the disease, saying that obscene cartoons, VCDs, and internet porns contributed to the rise in young patients.

Dr. Thawat added that the Public Health Ministry will organize a campaign to encourage more usage of condoms on December 1, which is the world’s AIDS day. He said that the Ministry aims to have all prostitutes use condoms by next year, while it hopes to increase condom use among teens by at least 50%.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 November 2005