Poll indicates discrimination among Thais against the HIV-positive

[webfact]

Poll indicates discrimination among Thais against the HIV-positive

BANGKOK, 26 August 2015 (NNT) - Discrimination and stigma remain among Thais against people living with HIV while many Thais do not know about free-of-charge HIV antibody test and treatment, according to a Department of Disease Control Poll revealed on Tuesday.

In the survey, 3,024 Bangkokians and locals in four provinces were asked about their attitudes toward the HIV-positive people. It found that 43 percent of Thais discriminated against people with HIV infection, 29 percent reluctant to tell their families in case of infection, 56 percent do not know about twice-a-year free HIV test, and the highest number, at 80 percent, are not aware of free treatment given by the government though HIV prevention and mitigation is set to be national strategy from last year to 2016.

The poll also reveals a decreasing percentage of HIV test requirement before school enrollment, entering the monkhood and work recruitment, at 58 percent, falling from 73% last year.

However, according to the Department, the government is pushing ahead a prevention plan in its bid to reduce stigma and discrimination in the society by launching a campaign to raise an understanding about HIV infections and equal treatment to HIV-positive people. The right of patients is to be protected in case of violations with the help of units concerned giving consultations to patients and pass them to related agencies.

-- NNT 2015-08-26

[Jingthing]

Sad but not surprising at all.

[WhizBang]

Thai discrimination extends well beyond just the HIV positive, I'm afraid.

[BuaBS]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

[Jingthing]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I can understand not wanting to have sex with HIV plus people but you do realize there is no risk to you having social / work contact with them, right? Informed people learned that MANY DECADES ago.

[BuaBS]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I can understand not wanting to have sex with HIV plus people but you do realize there is no risk to you having social / work contact with them, right? Informed people learned that MANY DECADES ago.

Accidents happen and you can come in contact with their contagious fluids.

[nottocus]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I agree.

[Jingthing]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I can understand not wanting to have sex with HIV plus people but you do realize there is no risk to you having social / work contact with them, right? Informed people learned that MANY DECADES ago.

Accidents happen and you can come in contact with their contagious fluids.

Paranoia / Hysteria .

Edited August 26, 2015 by Jingthing

[WhizBang]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I can understand not wanting to have sex with HIV plus people but you do realize there is no risk to you having social / work contact with them, right? Informed people learned that MANY DECADES ago.

Accidents happen and you can come in contact with their contagious fluids.

Well, don't french kiss anyone then, either on the lips, or elsewhere.

[Jingthing]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

I can understand not wanting to have sex with HIV plus people but you do realize there is no risk to you having social / work contact with them, right? Informed people learned that MANY DECADES ago.

Accidents happen and you can come in contact with their contagious fluids.

Well, don't french kiss anyone then, either on the lips, or elsewhere.

Not spread by kissing.

[BuaBS]

Well, don't french kiss anyone then, either on the lips, or elsewhere.

Not spread by kissing.

That is what they want you to believe. And no I won't be french kissing .

Paranoia / Hysteria ?.... No just prejudiced. Misinformed ...I don't care.

[useronthenet]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

Your lack of understanding makes you sound very ignorant. Most in the west know that HIV is just a disease like everything else for which there is adequate treatment. As far as transmission is concerned, and I went on this course, it's quite difficult to contract the disease unless the following applies:-

1) if you share needles with another person who is HIV+/AIDS

2) blood transfusion - if blood is not screened

3) unprotected sex

Quote " It is a nasty infections disease. I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work."

Well if you live or visit Thailand, chances are, you will already be exposed to those which are HIV on a daily basis since there are approximately 500,000 people living with the disease (officially). So essentially you in the wrong place if your trying to avoid 'infected people' whatever that means. Unofficially, there could be a lot more.

[Jingthing]

Well, don't french kiss anyone then, either on the lips, or elsewhere.

Not spread by kissing.

That is what they want you to believe. And no I won't be french kissing .

Paranoia / Hysteria ?.... No just prejudiced. Misinformed ...I don't care.

Not about belief. About scientific facts. DUH!

[inaktive]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

no Idea where you are from but in a civilized country you do get the meds for free

[Jingthing]

Even though there are good treatments now, I wouldn't want to trivialize the importance of avoiding HIV infection, free meds or not. It's still life changing in a massive way. It's just a matter of getting educated about how it's transmitted and seeking testing if at risk and treatment if unfortunately infected. Everyday social and workplace contact with the public, some will be HIV positive, is just not a concern. Unprotected sex with sex workers (very common about foreigners in Thailand) IS a concern. Big diff.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Jingthing

[halloween]

That is what they want you to believe. And no I won't be french kissing .

Paranoia / Hysteria ?.... No just prejudiced. Misinformed ...I don't care.

A perfect example of apathy and ignorance - you don't know and you don't care. There are many cases where a wife has contracted the disease and not transferred it to their spouse - I personally know of three.

The disease is only transmitted through a transfer of bodily fluids with saliva acting as a barrier. As a result, the three groups contracting the disease are intravenous drug users who share needles, those that engage in anal intercourse (both parties due to tearing of delicate tissue), and the female sexual partners of the previous two groups.

But don't trust some poster on the internet, ask your doctor. Mine, knowing my aversion to needles and my (reported) sexual preferences, told me a HIV test was probably unnecessary, and gave me the result by SMS to save a second visit.

[BuaBS]

It's always good advice to stay away from people with infectious diseases.

It is very common to have little wounds in you mouth ( biting on the tongue or inner cheek ) , Some blood in mouth & saliva , saliva is not a disinfectant. Breastmilk is contagious too.

Getting the med for free ? So society can pay again because you have unprotected sex (or share needles)? And the meds do not cure you , just keep the virus under control . You stay infectious to others.

This post is about discrimination against HIV positive persons . I would certainly appreciate that my boss didn't hire HIV positives to work with me. As for schools , do you want your kid with infected kids in school , where scrapes & wounds are common or can be used as an extreme type of bullying or a way to get back at some-one ?

Yes Thailand has a lot of them , but you can only discriminate against the ones that you know to have HIV , and I don't have much contact with the locals .

[alex88]

The ignorance in this thread is incredible in this day and age. You are surrounded by hiv positive people all the time and don't even know about it. Hiv is extremely difficult to catch and saliva kills the virus pretty quickly. Medication also brings infectious mess down close to zero.

A study was completed recently where thousands of couples where one was positive and on medication and kne was negative, had unprotected sex over a couple of years and there was not one single infection.

[Kannikapor88]

Hub of Discrimination and Xenophobia ...

[carter1882]

Thank you Alex for making your point. Health care professionals have known or at least suspected for many years that those HIV+ individuals who are receiving anti retroviral therapy and who have what is known as an undetectable viral load and have been that way for some time are no longer infectious in any way. Such individuals , given certain safeguards will not even pass on HIV to any children they may have. As far back as January 2008 a group of Western doctors issued what is known as the Swiss. Statement that articulated this and many studies of infected people since indicate that people being treated have as close to zero chance of passing on the disease as is possible to measure. To put this in perspective, a man, say, with two prospective partners, one with HIV but on successful treatment and another who has never been tested at all would have an infinitely higher chance of contracting HIV from the latter( in unprotected sex) especially as some estimates put the likelihood of infections in thailand being two or three times the official figure of around half a million.There may be a million individuals who do not know they are infected. Given that fact, what the govt here is trying to do is reduce stigma and get people on therapy and in the position of having an undetectable viral load. In this way new cases will be limited. HIV is not something you should risk getting but having got it it is important to realise that it is highly manageable and considered as a chronic condition in this enlightened world.

Enlightened world.....the very opposite of some of the ignorant fools who posted so quickly on this thread with such absurdities as fear of getting infected from coworkers. This kind of baloney, as much the domain of misinformed Westerners as Thais, is just the kind of thing that hinders the fight and just the kind of thing that the Thai government and the many superb HIV organisations and dedicated medical professionals in the kingdom are fighting against.

[lostmebike]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

That`s a very small bubble you live in.

[Shiver]

Even though it's hard to get, and hard to cure, you can stay symptom free for life at a cost of perhaps USD$20 per year, maybe less.

I do know of people HIV+ that have a viral load of zero (or let's say non detectable) and a CD4 in high normal range, so in effect have a very healthy immune system without using some of the more nasty (and expensive) drugs. I also know a husband and wife here in Thailand that are HIV+, and where they were withered and had skin breakouts and lacking energy, are now robust and living a full normal life, and can work the rice fields with the best of them. It's not the threat that it was in the early days if you know how to manage it.

Also a point of note, is that in most places in Thailand the tests are for anti-bodies for HIV, so much like chicken pox or measles, you will always test positive even if there is no evidence of the actual condition.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Shiver

[BuaBS]

So ? Sounds pretty logical to me . It is a nasty infectious disease . I would not want to come in contact with infected people, not in private or at work.

Thai may get free meds , but it is not free for foreigners here or back home.

That`s a very small bubble you live in.

Oh man , I feel so good reading all this , I can finaly come out of my bubble of ignorance and start sharing needles again and banging without those awful condoms ! With free meds for everyone , HIV is no problem anymore , because it's "manageble" . I can go to a Thai dentist ( they barely ever sterillize their torture tools ) , without fear of hiv infections. What a great day today. Thanks posters !

Now I'm going out to french kiss some random Thai's , see ya !

Edited August 27, 2015 by BuaBS

[lounger]

The ignorance in this thread is incredible in this day and age. You are surrounded by hiv positive people all the time and don't even know about it. Hiv is extremely difficult to catch and saliva kills the virus pretty quickly. Medication also brings infectious mess down close to zero.

A study was completed recently where thousands of couples where one was positive and on medication and kne was negative, had unprotected sex over a couple of years and there was not one single infection.

HIV virus dies within 20 seconds of being exposed to air....

A well lubricated sex act without tearing of tissue is not going to transfer the virus

and this is why partners often do not transmit the disease even over many years.