Over 1 Million Thais Are Infected With Hiv/Aids

[happysanook]

There is a hidden problem in this, this HIV virus is adapting to its human host and becoming less aggressive, put simply where at one time infection was a one year death sentence, now it is more like 5 to 10 years. Putting this in perspective it means a much longer period of support and medication for those infected.

HIV was never a one year death sentence... in the beginning we had no idea what it was and by the time it progressed to full blown aids, yes, without the meds we have today a year or two was maybe a good life expectancy...but by the time that happened, they had already been infected for many years.

people are living longer simply because of meds and earlier detection. and it's not 5 or 10 years, we're talking 45+ (ie someone at 20 getting hiv and starting meds and taking them properly can expect to live a full life)

[mickjn]

Worrisome. So every 60th person affected

Reading the article it seems like the 1 million figure is those currently identified as infected, and receiving treatment. It would seem logical that the actual figure of those infected is somewhat greater?

I would strongly agree with you

[BarryM]

HIV is increasingly mutated and virulent. I've seen progression from sero conversation to AIDS related illness in a Thai friend (tested negative in UK then 18 months later full on AIDS). No doubt erratic use of cheap generic anti retro virals is not helping matters in Thailand either, creating more resistance to treatment regimes.

I find Thais usually ask for condoms but will mostly agree to go without when with foreigners. When Thai on Thai up country there's an assumption that it's a disease spread by foreigners (and besides condoms cost money), so all bets are off.

[samjaidee]

If any one is interested in reading more, click on the link.

http://www.avert.org/thailand-aids-hiv.htm

[AbeSurd]

FWIW nearly 3000 people seem to be reading this thread right now.....

[BarryM]

Not wanting an argument.....but.....

I remember reading an article a few years ago that said that the profession in Thailand with the highest incidence of Aids / HIV was actually long distance lorry drivers who haul Thai goods across all the neighboring countries in SE Asia.

Sounds about right - there was a chapter in a very good early book on AIDS in the 80s titled "The Road to Kinshasa" (forget the name of the book - sorry) about the spread by truck drivers in sub Saharan Africa.

[brewsterbudgen]

With 1 in 60 Thais infected, that would surely mean a much higher proportion among sex workers.

One in 7?

One in 5?

(Here in Cambodia it's one in 8.)

I would have thought that sex workers would be more aware of the risks than the average young Thai.

[samjaidee]

There is a hidden problem in this, this HIV virus is adapting to its human host and becoming less aggressive, put simply where at one time infection was a one year death sentence, now it is more like 5 to 10 years. Putting this in perspective it means a much longer period of support and medication for those infected.

I have a friend who was infected when he was 22 years old. He's now 45 years old and going strong. As long as he gets checks regularly and takes the appropriate drugs he could live as long as you or I.

[peridot]

on a related note the hiv/aids link is flawed and therefore is not the demon it is proposed to be. google peter duesberg.

Peter Duesberg has been debunked over and over again. There was a recent incident where authors used his "research" in a medical journal, and now people have been fired for publishing that nonsense. Duesberg's methods have been proven inadequate and intentionally misleading. He is a quack.

[Card]

The statements seem to contradict themselves...Is it one million currently or one million reported since records began 30 years ago..slightly misleading, as if you take away under 18s over 60s that leaves a very large percentage of the population with a problem.

Why take away the under 18s and over 60s? Don't they count as part of the 'population'?

[peridot]

Does this figure include the very rich Thais who can afford to fly to, say, Germany, for their treatment?

They will get nothing more in Germany than they can get here. Thailand now uses very good HIV medicines, those that are standard in the USA. Cheap generics, as long as they are made by reputable laboratories, work exactly the same as the outrageously expensive brand names. Now that there are generics for many standard HIV meds, they are affordable here.

The sad part about the lack of public information in Thailand is that people are not getting tested. If people got tested, went on antiretrovirals, and eliminated their viral load, they would not pass on the virus. This is slowly becoming realized in Western countries. The biggest advance in HIV treatment in 2011 was that "treatment is prevention". A person taking their HIV medicines regularly for six months, with no viral load, cannot pass on the virus. It is those who have not been tested, so don't know they have HIV, who are spreading the virus today.

Edited March 18, 2012 by peridot

[anterian]

There is a hidden problem in this, this HIV virus is adapting to its human host and becoming less aggressive, put simply where at one time infection was a one year death sentence, now it is more like 5 to 10 years. Putting this in perspective it means a much longer period of support and medication for those infected.

HIV was never a one year death sentence... in the beginning we had no idea what it was and by the time it progressed to full blown aids, yes, without the meds we have today a year or two was maybe a good life expectancy...but by the time that happened, they had already been infected for many years.

people are living longer simply because of meds and earlier detection. and it's not 5 or 10 years, we're talking 45+ (ie someone at 20 getting hiv and starting meds and taking them properly can expect to live a full life)

Nonetheless, this virus is undergoing the normal host adaptation, which means it takes longer to kill. The modern medications tend to hide this effect but it is real. Much of the non coding codons in our DNA are fossil relics of previous diseases.

http://sgb.imb-jena.de/SGB/externallinks/wren2000.pdf

[sydneyjed]

Meechai needs to start up another campaign.

Clearly the Thai's have, in general, a very short memory span.

Banning then taking condom machines out of schools doesn't seem like a right good decision anymore looking at these alarming statistics...Apparently it sent the wrong 'moral' message having them there!!!

[thaiIand]

Aids HUB of the world. Grats thais.

[shatteredreams]

Figures.

My current and previous girlfriends had no clue about contraceptives and STDs.

When I first came here 20 years ago every girl insisted on condom use for fear of HIV. Now they all say they don't like condoms and don't want me to use one. And I'm not talking about hookers here, but girls you would consider educated and with an ability to think about the future.

The 20-25 age group in particular seem to have no fear of HIV at all.

That is why hookers are a LOT safer. they always insist on condoms, because they know the risks.

[klubex99]

Not wanting an argument.....but.....

I remember reading an article a few years ago that said that the profession in Thailand with the highest incidence of Aids / HIV was actually long distance lorry drivers who haul Thai goods across all the neighboring countries in SE Asia.

You are indeed 100% correct.

I worked in Africa quite a bit in the mid nineties when HIV and Aids were peaking. Buy far the highest concentrations of the disease formed a line right through the center of the continent, The Trans-African Highway, was even nicknamed after aids, although i cant remember the word for it off the top of my head.

But anyway... The spread of the disease was blamed on lorry drivers using the route and sleeping with a different bar girl every night, then going back to their wives and girlfriends and giving it to them. the statistics were astounding. For example, about 300 to 400 miles out from the road, the incidence of HIV was about 1 in 150 at the time, and 100 to 200 miles out from the road it was 1 in 60 and within 20 miles of the road it was 1 in about 25. This was consistent right down the highway.

The Africans had a strange perception of the disease in Malawi, where despite the huge amount of education funded by the west, The common perception was that you got it from swimming in the lake, and there was no way they were going to believe you could catch it from intercourse. No matter how much you try to convince them, they just shook their heads and laughed that the white man was only saying that to stop Africans from breeding. they also have no fear of death, they see so much of it, that they just shrug it off.

In Thailand, the attitude to death is much the same. You can tell that by the way they drive

But I will bet that the concentrations of the highest incidences of the disease are in fact found to be hugging the major arteries of the country, especially when you also consider that almost every Thai man has a gig or regularly visits the massage parlour for a rub down and a bit more.

[klubex99]

Not wanting an argument.....but.....

I remember reading an article a few years ago that said that the profession in Thailand with the highest incidence of Aids / HIV was actually long distance lorry drivers who haul Thai goods across all the neighboring countries in SE Asia.

Sounds about right - there was a chapter in a very good early book on AIDS in the 80s titled "The Road to Kinshasa" (forget the name of the book - sorry) about the spread by truck drivers in sub Saharan Africa.

The book was called The ****** Highway.... I forget the word.

[cardholder]

Visited the AIDS temple in Lopburi a couple of years ago.

A friend and his wife wanted to support a good cause and did want to see any more money flowing into their local wat.

They chose the Lopburi temple and donated over 120,000 Bahts worth of food and other goods.

Quite an eye opener.

[erobando]

No Thais would get AIDS if they played football more often.

[peridot]

HIV has deliberately been spread using vaccines, not theory, fact.

Can you back this claim up with some actual information? Which vaccine?

There was some indication that the smallpox vaccine stimulated dormant HIV into full blown AIDS, but it did not actually spread HIV. The people already had HIV. There is also some evidence that the smallpox vaccine protected people from getting HIV. Now that the vaccine is not used much, because smallpox has been largely eradicated, HIV is spreading more in some populations.

There was also some speculation that the oral polio vaccine spread HIV, but that has been proven wrong.

[gemguy]

This is a humanity / sex based issue and you are never going to get people to practice totally safe sex as proven by 7 Billion people on the planet.

All that can really be done is try to contain the spread of STD's and HIV.

Until they come up with a medication that makes all humans immune to sexually transmitted diseases then you can expect the spread of STD's and HIV to continue.

People want to have sex and there has never been anytime throughout history that the human race has not been without some sort of sexual epidemic amongst the population.

It is not surprising to hear the figures posted in this article because the Thais love to bonk one another just as much as the rest of the world and maybe more so than many other countries.

At least they are trying to contain the problem and of course there is more to be accomplished but ultimately it is up to the people themselves to protect themselves after they have been forwarned more than enough times about the dangers of random unprotected sex.

Short of blitzing the public with "danger" "danger" "danger" warnings and or "proceed with extreme caution" type of media information and full time educational information it is up to the citizens themselves to come to theirr senses as the citizens are soon upset if the politicians and authorities start restricting what people can do and or start dictating how people conduct themselves in more or less private matters.

Let us hope that the drug companies and the doctors of the world can eventually come up with drugs and medications that stop or reverse the damage caused by sexual infectiions and especially HIV because the people are not going to stop bonking one another no matter what the known associated risks are.

[miksguevara]

a 'hub' of infection

[slipperx]

Maybe they will exterminate themselves, wait here's 20 baht to vote first. Truly sad

[philliphn]

Always use a Condom!!!!!!!!

[cardholder]

Always use a Condom!!!!!!!!

It is one of the best ways to keep your bottle of beer cool.

[sirchai]

Sad about it is that many more are infected with H.I.V. People in villages here are trying to hide their disease, as Thais believe that they might loose face, not just their lives.

I've seen some in my wife's village suffering, visited them and felt pretty bad, as there wasn't anything I could do for them.

One mother didn't even wash her helpless daughter as she believed she could get the virus through washing her.

I've tried all to "educate" them, but it wasn't really what I had expected.

Time for all of us to realize that we all live in the same world, that we've got similar problems also in other countries

. Got one "positive" in my family and with help from a TV member, we could help her to get the right treatment and the right solution to go on with her life as a human being. Not as a person with a disease, that's already strange enough to live with.

Time for all of us to realize that HIV isn't far away from us.

I've seen too many people getting killed by this virus in Europe and here. I do hope that some people will change their minds, not loosing face is important, protecting life and understanding what causes HIV, should be part of education here and there.....

Edited March 18, 2012 by sirchai

[skippybangkok]

Sus - 25% in 30-34 yr old group. Why this segment has the most? You would think it would be more spread between late teens to early fifties

[friendphil]

AFTER reading another health statistic on Thaivisa, regarding the mortality rate of babies born in Thailand, any statistics I read here are rather suspect regarding their accuracy. A million is a nice round number--- probably a rough guess, at best.

I too would like to see a breakdown into some different demographic variables: age, sex, occupation, etc. as much as possible. Then the numbers start to get more meaningful. As it is, to me, "one million" is simply equal to "a lot".

In any case, it IS a lot of people, and it's unfortunate.

Edited March 18, 2012 by friendphil

[Bagwan]

I personally know 4 people who were infected with the HIV virus over 20 years ago and they are still full of life. Mutation of the virus is of course a problem area but a greater danger is damage to the kidneys and/or liver inflicted by the ARVs. It is imperative that full blood checks are carried out at 6 monthly intervals and if necessary medications can then be changed.

I have it on good authority that there are fewer than 15 doctors in Thailand who really know what they are about in the treatment of HIV. If you consider how many thoracic surgeons have the knowlege and facilities to carry out heart transplants, this seems about right to me. The same source revealed that there are about 16,000 HIV patients in Chonburi province, 6000 of these attend a Sriricha hospital, and further 6,000 are treated privately in Pattaya. Good luck to the remainer probably attending private hospitals, and no doubt paying through the nose for less effective treatment caused by a lack of detailed and up to date knowedge of those they consult.

[pcruzer]

there are so many more diseases that kill many more......this is fear mongering so someone can profit from it....its the human condition...GREED