Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - March 20, 2008
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
The survey results have prompted health authorities to dust off a campaign to encourage the use of condoms.
Mechai Veravaidya, chairman of the sub-committee on Aids prevention, said new cases were mostly found among teenagers aged between 15 and 19. This group was sexually active and tended not to use condoms while having casual sex with multiple partners.
According to the survey only 13% of students in Mathayom Suksa and university level who had sex used condoms. Moreover, only 9% of office employees used condoms with their partners.
These groups were at high risk of contracting HIV/Aids as they had multiple partners without using protection. A lack of campaigning for condom use had made the HIV/Aids problem become very serious again, Mr Mechai, who was once known as 'Mr Condom' for his relentless condom campaign, said.
Mr Mechai said the country desperately needed to renew the condom campaign in a bid to reduce the number of new infections. Otherwise the disease would affect the national healthcare system.
An estimated 500,000 Thais are living with HIV/Aids. More than 80% of people living with HIV/Aids are in need of antiretroviral drugs.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation reported that 700,000 people living with HIV/Aids worldwide had tuberculosis-related problems.
In 2006, around 200,000 HIV-positive people died of TB-associated causes.
At the same time, doctors are studying three professions at risk of TB infection as Thailand ranks 18th out of 22 countries with the highest number of TB cases.
Praparn Youngchaiyud, president of the Thai Chest Association, said a team of researchers was studying TB infections among taxi drivers, food vendors and nurses because their closed working environments could make them more easily susceptible to the disease.
It would take another two years to conclude the study.
However, Dr Praparn believed the TB infection rate among these professions was no higher than others such as labourers.
Paijit Warachit, deputy permanent health secretary, said there were 91,000 new TB cases each year. A high number of TB infections and multiple drug resistance also prompted health authorities to promote screening tests and expand coverage of Directly Observed Treatment, short-course (DOTs), the WHO-recommended strategy for TB control.
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