AEGiS-Bangkok Post: Infection rate for teens rises by 6%: Sudarat lauds 0.1% drop for mums-to-be

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Infection rate for teens rises by 6%: Sudarat lauds 0.1% drop for mums-to-be

Bangkok Post - January 2, 2003

The rate of HIV infection among pregnant women fell by 0.1% in 2002 as parents adopted a greater degree of responsibility in practising prevention measures, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said yesterday.

However, figures for the young revealed an alarming trend, as infection rates among teenagers jumped from 11% to 17%.

Charan Treunwuthipong, of the Communicable Diseases Control Department, said studies had revealed less than half of the country's sexually active teenagers used condoms.

He said the agency would particularly target youths in this year's Aids-prevention campaign, under which 26 million, or 23 million baht worth of condoms would be handed out.

Ms Sudarat said an infection rate of 1.2% among mothers-to-be last year represented one of the world's lowest figures for this group.

"This is a good sign," she said. "This shows our family institution has grown stronger."

Ms Sudarat said the rate had dropped despite more pregnant women undergoing blood tests for HIV.

The Public Health Ministry would continue its efforts to educate pregnant women about Aids prevention, and to counsel infected mothers-to-be on methods to lessen the likelihood of transmission to their babies, she said.

In another promising sign, 97% of prostitutes said they refused to have sex without a condom.

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