The National Aids Prevention and Control Commission has urged the government to review strategies in coping with HIV/Aids, in response to an alarming increase in the number of children orphaned by the deadly virus. Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said all state agencies working on HIV/Aids needed to put more e
Public health activists have criticised the United States for stalling a bid by the World Trade Organisation to forge a system for giving poorer countries access to cheap medicines. I m not surprised because the US has a tendency to act this way, said Rosana Tositrakul, coordinator of the Thai Holistic Health Foundatio
The Public Health Ministry has begun human trials of GPO-Vir, an anti-retroviral cocktail for treating HIV/Aids that was devised by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO). Under a programme jointly supported by the government and the Global Aids Fund, some 13,000 HIV/Aids carriers at 400 hospitals nationwide
More and more high school and college students in Hat Yai are earning quick money in the sex trade, with some becoming rented wives for foreigners. Singaporean and Malaysian men sponsor teenage students as their sex partners because the risk of being infected with the deadly HIV virus is considered lower than from wome
The recent warning from UNAIDS that 42 million people are HIV-positive and that this figure could double by 2010, is a new reminder of the public health danger to us all. It should help convince member states of the World Trade Organisation to meet the yearend deadline for forging a deal on cheap medicines for poorer c
When his employers discovered the illness from which he was suffering was a result of him being HIV-positive, 26-year-old Somchai feared he would lose his position within the Japanese electronics firm and become a subject of discrimination for his colleagues. Somchai learned of his HIV status after a check-up at Navana
A TAO fund, no matter how meagre, is helping HIV-infected children in the North. Grandpa Lad Thanuchan, 70, did not know much about HIV/Aids when it struck his family years ago. His only son and youngest daughter are today being worn down by the virus, which has already killed their spouses. His second daughter also su
Lat Yao Prison in Bang Khen will open its doors this month to relatives and friends of terminally-ill Aids prisoners so that inmates can spend their last days with loved ones. John Lertwitworapong, director of Lat Yao Prison s Central Hospital in Nonthaburi, has started a hospice programme to mark World Aids Day today.
Thailand and other Asian countries should consider giving clean needles to intravenous drug users to combat the HIV/Aids epidemic, a United Nations agency said yesterday. As a major strategy in fighting HIV/Aids, Asian governments needed to urgently review their drug control policies by considering harm reduction pro
Bangkok is home to about 90,000 people with HIV/Aids, according to the latest estimate by the city s Aids Control Division. The division based its estimate partly on the number of cases reported by 48% of the health care establishments in the capital, said Eiam Vimutisunthorn, director-general of the Health Department.
The Ministry of Public Health will press ahead with plans to expand its anti-retroviral drugs programme for HIV/Aids patients, despite a 50% drop in demand. Speaking after a meeting with Aids activists, permanent secretary Vallop Thainua said patients had stopped coming to pick up the cocktail of Aids drugs prescribed
Trade ministers from 25 countries including Thailand have agreed to work towards making medicines affordable to poor countries at low costs. But an Aids activist in Bangkok shrugged off the agreement, calling it a publicity stunt . At a World Trade Organisation mini-summit, the trade ministers agreed to press for chang
The Public Health Ministry has declined to include the V-1 immunitor, used by Aids and HIV patients, in the universal health care coverage scheme. Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said the government s 30-baht health programme recognised only medicines and the criteria effectively excluded V-1 and other food supplements fro
Vichai Jirathitikal, inventor of V-1 Immunitor, wants to sue the Salang Bunnag Foundation for telling the public that his food supplement cannot cure HIV/Aids. Three months ago, doctors volunteering at the foundation accused Mr Vichai of exaggerating V-1 s benefits and breaching an agreement that it be distributed free
Money from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria will help local drug manufacturers make medicines to fight the diseases. Thailand has been promised US$109 million (4.68 billion baht) to fight Aids and another $13 million for tuberculosis control within nine years, starting this year.
Senior public health staff have been moved to inactive positions, possibly to get rid of them, says a health activist. Rosana Tositrakul, coordinator of the Thai Holistic Health Foundation, said Suvit Wibulpolprasert, deputy permanent secretary, had been moved to an academic post; Vichai Chokevivat, secretary-general o
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation will start making a tablet form of the anti-Aids drug didanosine (ddI) in three months, director Thongchai Thavichachart has said. The decision comes after an Oct 1 ruling by the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court limiting the exclusive rights of
The House justice and human rights committee has agreed to set up an independent agency to test if the food supplement V-1 Immunitor is effective against Aids after discovering the conditions of some patients in Chumpon had improved while taking the drug. The panel received a petition last week from a nurse connected t
Aids activists yesterday called on the Public Health Ministry to join them in a second lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb over its patent rights on the sale of anti-Aids drug didanosine , or ddI. The activists plan to file another lawsuit on Wednesday to have the US-based firm s patent rights on ddI rev
Siemngek sae Ngao, a penniless mother no longer able to take care of her HIV-infected son, threatened to kill herself yesterday, and might have done so had her neighbour not learned of her plan. Her son s illness had cost him his job and their income. It also threatened to force them out of their home. Neighbours told
A Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court ruled yesterday to remove the exclusive right of Bristol-Myers Squibb to sell an Aids drug in Thailand . The court ruled in favour of three plaintiffs - two Aids patients and an activist group - and said the US firm would have the exclusive right to produce
The spread of HIV/Aids had led to a significant drop in the population of Phayao province, Deputy Public Health Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday. The population of the northern province had been falling since 1998 due to the rate of Aids infections among residents, particularly those of working age, he said
The National Drugs Commission will ban pharmacies from supplying sufferers of HIV and Aids with anti-retrovirals, which will subsequently only be available from the clinics at which they are prescribed. Under the move, doctors and nurses at hospitals and clinics nationwide will receive urgent training in caring for tho
A Bangkok hospital has denied it caused the death of a six-year-old girl who died of Aids this month, allegedly as a result of vaccination shots given soon after birth. Wachira Hospital director Thani Boonaoprasit said the girl might have received the allegedly fatal jabs elsewhere as there were no records to confirm s
A doctor who studied a group of HIV-infected patients taking V-1 Immunitor insisted yesterday that the food supplement could turn patients HIV status from positive to negative. Oraphan Methadilokkul, an expert in occupational and environmental medicine at Rajavithi Hospital, said the result came from an 14-month follow
Ban Bangpakong clinic s former public-relations officer Pramual Talampang, second right, holds the son of an Aids patient from Tanzania , right, during a meeting yesterday with Deputy Public Health Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, far left. Mr Surapong confirmed V-1 Immunitor was not effective in combating Aids, despite
The traditional practice of using lemon juice as a contraceptive and its possible use to ward off HIV/Aids infection needs careful study before it can be recommended, researchers say. Roger V Short, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne, said a team of scientists had just completed init
The Public Health Ministry has downplayed reports from Australia claiming lime juice could be used as an effective contraceptive, warning the nation not to trust the research until it has been scientifically proven, and to remain faithful to condoms. According to the reports, placing thin slices of lime, or cotton soak
Thailand has the rare opportunity to take centre stage at the 14th International Conference on Aids which began yesterday in Barcelona. A representative of the Public Health Ministry will present to the world a plan to launch the biggest community-based HIV vaccine trial ever held. The trial, set tentatively to b
The world s biggest conference on Aids and HIV opened yesterday morning in Barcelona. There are decidedly mixed reviews due at the meeting, which marks 21 years since the discovery and battle began against the world s most terrible epidemic. The news from Thailand is decidedly positive. But it would be a serious error
The Public Health Ministry yesterday revealed the findings from a study of the use of combined anti-retroviral drugs to reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission. The study, which started last year, was conducted by the Health Services Department with the help of American and French experts. Siriporn Kanchana
Aids remains Thailand s leading cause of death, with one in every 100 of the 63.6 million population being infected, despite well-funded and comprehensive prevention programmes, says a UNAids report. The UN report on the global HIV/Aids epidemic was released worldwide yesterday, ahead of the 14th International Aids Con
The company which distributes the herbal medicine Stree Tra Dokkoon as a miracle cure for HIV/Aids is acting illegally and trying to deceive the public, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. Secretary-general Vichai Chokeviwat announced the ruling after FDA inspectors went to check out PK Anti-Virus company
The Public Health Ministry will investigate the temple in Kanchanaburi and a drug company accused of promoting a herbal medicine as a miracle cure for Aids. The Network for People Living with HIV/Aids earlier filed a complaint to the Communicable Diseases Control Department, accusing Nong Sam Phran Temple and P.K.Anti-
The Network for People Living with HIV/Aids says a drug company and a temple in Kanchanaburi are portraying a herbal brew as a miracle cure for Aids. It has asked the Communicable Diseases Control Department to investigate. An Aids patient who contacted the network said friends of hers had responded to a job advertisem
The Public Health Ministry was told yesterday to be more open to community involvement in its large-scale phase 3 trial of an HIV candidate vaccine, which is to involve 16,000 Thai volunteers in Rayong and Chon Buri by the end of this year. Lack of transparency in the past had led to abuses and even mistreatment of vol
Though their community was awarded for having an outstanding kamnan and public health volunteers, tambon Non Sung in Muang district is certainly not willing to put up with Aids sufferers. With resistance from 86 villagers, five HIV-infected girls were kicked out of Ban Khao Sarn School three days after they arrived the
Immune Response Corp, US manufacturer of Remune, the controversial HIV/Aids therapeutic candidate vaccine under trial in Thailand , has suffered financial losses which could severely affect its operation. The Los Angeles Times said auditors for Immune Response Corp had questioned the company s ability to stay in busine
The Mental Health Department will push ahead with its plans to introduce counselling for HIV/Aids patients at public hospitals nationwide by 2006. Pravej Tantipiwatanasakul, director of Mental Health Development Office, said yesterday providing counselling to those uncertain about their HIV/Aids status was one of the m
Thailand will receive US$133 million (5.72 billion baht) from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to run a five-year programme for prevention and treatment of the deadly diseases. The money has been approved for Thailand s projects planned for 2002-2006, said Public Health Minister Sudarat
Researchers of HIV-1 Immunogen, or Remune, the controversial HIV/Aids therapeutic vaccine which has been treated with skepticism by an evaluation panel, insist that the vaccine has shown a 60% success rate in improving the lives of HIV-infected volunteers. Their backing comes amid recent reports that the manufacturer w
The Food and Drug Administration insisted yesterday that transparency will be maintained in its consideration whether to register Remune, an unapproved HIV/Aids therapeutic candidate vaccine being tested in Thailand . Trinity Medical Group (TMG), the joint developer and distributor of the vaccine in Southeast Asia, has
HIV-1 Immunogen, the unapproved HIV/Aids therapeutic candidate vaccine being tested in Thailand , has stirred another controversy with its developer seeking a short cut through the Food and Drug Administration to get the vaccine sold legally on the Thai market. Information has been leaked from the
While Songkran revellers on the outside fire at each other with powerful water guns, not a single drop of water is wasted at Bangkok s Klong Prem prison. Water is too precious to be wasted, said Jon Lerwitworangpong, director of Corrections Central hospital in Klong Prem Prison, while presiding over a traditional Songk
Illegal labourers from Burma will be screened for HIV, and those who test positive will be repatriated separately from returnees with a clean bill of health, Surakiart Sathirathai, foreign minister, was quoted as saying yesterday. The agreement was reached during talks on the return of immigrant labourers without work
The soft-spoken, 72-year-old Thai farmer kept a straight face as he told the story of how, seven years ago, his son and daughter-in-law became infected with Aids and died. But when Duangkaew Songkaew recalled how the epidemic struck his granddaughter _ how he washed her wounds and blisters and walked long distances to
Fun-loving men should beware of catching Aids from women who have been widowed and turned to prostitution, the interior minister warned yesterday. Purachai Piumsombun said these women were older and could have been infected with HIV by their late spouses but remain unaware of it. His comment follows a police crackdown
Happy Lounge I looks typical of any Bangkok nightclub. Bargirls from all over Thailand greet customers as they enter. They pour us beer. They sit and talk. We could be in any go-go bar on the entertainment strips of Suthisarn, Ratchadapisek or the notorious Soi Cowboy. In fact, the nightclub is 1,500 kilometres south
Thailand s first locally-produced anti-Aids cocktail drug goes on sale early next month. Made by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), the drug, GPO-VIR, is a triple combination of anti-viral drugs Stavudine 30-40 mg, Lamivudine 150 mg and Ne
Renowned Thai physicians in HIV/Aids treatment yesterday confirmed the use of Kaletra , a new anti-retroviral drug, as another good alternative for Aids sufferers. The information on this new drug was fed to health professionals at a medical seminar on ``Redefining the Art of HIV Management organised by the Thai Aids
Physicians at Rajavithi hospital are preparing for a trial of V-1 Immunitor on more than 100 people infected with HIV/Aids. The trial would be spearheaded by Dr Oraphan Methadilokkul, chief of the Office of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the hospital, who earlier carried out a study on hundreds of patients
Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said her ministry is trying to find ways to stop the spread of communicable diseases among foreign labourers. She chaired a meeting of hospital directors and provincial public health chiefs yesterday to work out strategies to control the spread of epidemics among alien workers
The Public Health Ministry has issued a second warning to the distributors of the V-1 Immunitor pill not to exaggerate its effectiveness as the product is merely a food supplement and not an HIV-Aids treatment drug. Deputy Health Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday if it is proven that the product s Aids-fight
The development of a new HIV/Aids vaccine, in which Thailand has been involved from the very beginning, has shown encouraging results and is likely to go for clinical trials on humans. The vaccine, developed for HIV-1 Subtype-E virus which is common among Thai and other Asian Aids carriers, is a result of the internati
Anew and troubling tide of drug use by young people threatens all the gains that Thailand has made in fighting Aids and the virus that causes it. The new data is from the Johns Hopkins University team that has been tracking Aids in Thailand. Researchers caution against drawing dramatic conclusions. But their latest fig
More than 200 protesters rallied at the Public Health Ministry yesterday to demand clarity over the alleged HIV cure, V-1 immunitor. The protesters were mostly Aids sufferers being treated with V-1 immunitor by Ban Bangpakong clinic. Some wore T-shirts bearing messages such as V-1 Immunitor: A victory for Thais and th
The Public Health Ministry will add 250 million baht to its budget to treat more Aids sufferers with anti-retroviral drugs under the 30-baht medical care scheme. Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said a criteria would be set by the committee screening Aids patients to determine who would be given priority for t
The Public Health Ministry will provide sex education courses for parents so they can pass on details to their offspring. The project would start early this month in 50 Bangkok districts and expand nationwide within two years, with priority given to secondary schools. Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said mini
HIV/Aids was pointed yesterday as a common threat to human security in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) where the spread of the deadly disease is considerably high along the border. The fears were raised at the Intersessional Meeting of the Human Security Network on Human Security and HIV/Aids hosted by the Foreign
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