Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
The United Nations agency fighting the spread of Aids praised Thailand for promoting an effective condom use campaign. Although fewer men were visiting brothels, the country was now experiencing a new problem of extra-marital and casual sex.
Young people were at greatest risk of infection, especially female teenagers who appeared more likely to engage in premarital sexual relationships than earlier generations, it said in the report released worldwide ahead of the International Aids Conference to be held in Bangkok from Sunday to July 16.
The number of new infections in Thailand has fallen from 140,000 in 1991 to around 21,000 in 2003.
According to its study between 1996 and 2002, more secondary school students were sexually active and condom use among young people was still at a low level. In addition, infection rates among homosexuals and drug users remained high, due to inadequate coverage of prevention activities, it said.
The UN agency also warned that Asia was facing a matter of "life and death" because the number of carriers of the HIV/Aids virus, especially injecting drug users, sex workers and men having sex with men had increased dramatically.
An estimated 7.4 million Asians were living with HIV, while half a million were believed to have died of Aids last year and about twice as many became newly infected, it said.
India had the largest number of HIV-positive people outside Africa, estimated at 5.1 million in 2003, it said, adding that most infections were acquired sexually but transmission through sex between men was also a major concern.
China is facing a time bomb, as the report forecasts that the present figure of 840,000 infections would rise to around 10 million people by 2010 in that country unless effective action was urgently taken, while in Indonesia, the world's fourth-populous country, infection rates were rising rapidly. On the global scale, almost 38 million people were living with Aids and nearly three million died from the disease last year. UNAids deputy executive director Kathleen Cravero warned that the worst had yet to come.
"These data demonstrates that HIV/Aids is spreading rapidly in every part of the world. The unprecedented destruction brought by the HIV/Aids epidemic over the past 20 years will multiply several times in the decades to come, unless the fight against the disease is acted fast," she said.
Ms Cravero said prevention, treatment, resources and political commitment remained key issues to curb the spread of the virus and end stigma of Aids victims. It was also important to get donor nations to contribute more to the global Aids fund to help the poor developing countries, she added.
040707
BP040706
Copyright © 2004 - The Bangkok Post. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Bangkok Post.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .