Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 15, 2000
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
The latest report of the Public Health Ministry's Epidemiology Division showed 1.76% of pregnant women were infected with HIV last year against 1.53% in 1998.
While the overall picture showed the HIV rate among pregnant women to be 1.76%, the rate was 5.91% in the North, 2.02% in the Central Region, 1.92% in the South and 1.25% in the Northeast.
The rate among pregnant women peaked at 2.29% in 1995, then gradually declined to 1.81% in 1996 and to 1.68% in 1997.
The report coincided with Unicef's Progress of Nations 2000 report released on Wednesday.
Gamini Abeysekera, the Unicef representative in Thailand, said the report stressed the need to mobilise all sectors of society, particularly the young. Adolescents constituted the most vulnerable age group due to ignorance of the need for safe sex, he said.
"According to the report, one in 33 young women and one in 50 young men in Cambodia have HIV/Aids. "Burma, which has one of the fastest growing epidemic in Asia, has an estimated 530,000 people now infected," said Mr Abeysekera, raising concern over the effect the health of neighbours would have on Thailand. He said Thailand should not be complacent with the progress and achievements made, since some health issues were not country-specific.
Public Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi said efforts were under way to reduce vertical HIV transmission from women to their newborn.
By making anti-retroviral drugs available to HIV-positive pregnant women, Mr Korn said, HIV infection among infants had been reduced from 25% in recent years to 7.5% today. Mr Abeysekera said Thailand's challenge was to reduce disparities among regions and enhance the quality of primary health care services.
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