Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - October 5, 2001
The report was released on the eve of the Sixth International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific in Melbourne.
Cambodia, Burma and Thailand said HIV/Aids infected slightly more than one per cent of their population.
The report, however, said the low rates masked an uneven geographical spread and demanded a closer look.
National averages were not very meaningful in the Asian context where epidemics have yet to mature.
In the overall region, HIV could spread extensively if preventive action was too little or too late.
"Some countries began prevention efforts early and they are reaping the benefits today," said Petor Piot, UNAIDS executive director.
"Elsewhere, however, epidemics will continue their natural course unless prevention programmes reach the groups most vulnerable to HIV," he said.
The report said risky behaviour and HIV levels were on the increase in many countries.
In certain cities of Vietnam, for example, infection levels were rising quickly and in some cases exponentially. In Ho Chi Minh City, HIV infection rates among sex workers and their clients went from zero in 1996 to more than 20% in 2000.
HIV rates among sex workers in Indonesia had jumped from 6% to 26% at three sites, with several recorded HIV outbreaks among the intravenous drug community.
Rob Moodie, the conference co-chairman, said epidemics in the region were geographically diverse. The HIV situation varied dramatically between and within countries.
Countries with low infection and outbreak rates could not be certain of keeping things that way. Several countries, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam, were in a transitional phase and may be on the brink of explosive epidemics.
Asia's epidemics were driven by five overlapping factors: men having sex with men, drug users using dirty needles, and sex workers passing on the disease to their clients.
Men also passed it on to their wives and girlfriends, and mothers their infant children.
"Most drug users are sexually active young men. Many have steady partners, many are sex work clients, and some finance their drug habit habit by selling sex. A recent phenomenon is that growing numbers of sex workers are turning to injecting drugs," the report said.
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