AIDS believed on the rise again in Thailand
By Alisa Tang. October 4, 2005. Asian Gazette
Bangkok - Thailand was once considered a model in the fight against AIDS, but the man behind that success says the country of 63 million has returned to the days of ignorance and that the disease is making a deadly comeback.[b]
Mechai Viravaidya is widely known as Mr. Condom for the aggressive condom distribution and public education campaign he began in the 1990s. He believes there were 25,000 new infections last year, well over the official figure of 19,000.
While that is much less than the 143,000 infections the government counted in 1991, Mechai says the number is growing fast because of unprotected sex, especially among young people.
"It's clear that AIDS has returned to rise again ... . We've gone back to days of ignorance," said Mechai, who is conducting a second AIDS awareness campaign. "There's no reason why next year it won't be 100,000 new cases."
When Thailand recorded its first AIDS case in 1984, the country was believed to be on the verge of a huge AIDS epidemic due to its enormous sex industry. It was estimated that without action, an estimated four million people would be infected by 2002.
The government went into denial, and things changed only in the 1990s when Mechai, a senator and the chairman of a private population association, persuaded the prime minister to head the National AIDS Committee. The budget to fight the epidemic increased 50-fold, and radio and television stations were required to broadcast AIDS education.
The current government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has spent considerable sums on caring for and providing free anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive people. But Thaksin has not attended meetings of the National AIDS Committee or mentioned AIDS in his statements to Parliament since he took office in February 2001.
"The government budget, the lack of the declaration, the prime minister's abdication from the role, and the consequent weak public education program has resulted in what we have today: a tremendous increase," Mechai said.
Thai government spokesman Suraphong Suebwonglee denied the government was neglecting AIDS but said officials have had to contend with other public health threats.
"In the past two to three years, there has also been bird flu and dengue fever prevention, as well as disease prevention because of food safety and cigarettes," Suraphong told The Associated Press.
He said Thaksin shares Mechai's concern that AIDS will spread among youth. On Saturday Thaksin announced a policy to prevent youth delinquency, including "inappropriate" sexual behavior.
In 2004, sexually transmitted diseases among youth shot up at least 30 percent, and Mechai believes AIDS is on a similar track.
The government estimates 1 million Thais have been infected with HIV and 500,000 have died; Mechai believes there have been 2 million infections and 800,000 HIV/AIDS deaths.
"We think it's underestimated. We don't want to be nasty and call it a lie, but I think it's pretty close to it," Mechai said.
The UN Development Program warned in July 2004 that there were clear signs of an AIDS resurgence, with government spending on HIV/AIDS programs dropping from $82 million in 1997 to $25 million in 2003.
Mechai has given up on the government and has started buying condoms to distribute wherever he goes, insisting Thailand need only repeat its earlier successful strategy of public education and condoms. Only 20 percent to 30 percent of young people use condoms consistently, he said.
"With the demise and disappearance of public education, people think it's gone. I've had some kids say to me, 'Is AIDS still around?'" Mechai said
Aids in Asia
francois
Posted 31 October 2005 - 02:39 PM
yohan, on Oct 2 2005, 02:22 PM, said:
francois, on Oct 2 2005, 05:27 PM, said:
.......
just a fact that we know for long, two person sharing the same infection even from different class(of virus category), they share all and the overinfecion too, which will kill them faster!
they both have an infection and adding some more deficients cells won't help to build antibody! rather the opposite, adding more deffective cells accelarate the processus and some old infected cells may mutate!
francois
just a fact that we know for long, two person sharing the same infection even from different class(of virus category), they share all and the overinfecion too, which will kill them faster!
they both have an infection and adding some more deficients cells won't help to build antibody! rather the opposite, adding more deffective cells accelarate the processus and some old infected cells may mutate!
francois
Quote
Interesting subject, I cannot comment about that, I do not have any knowledge about it...
I was thinking, if the human body is exposed to the same source of infection, again and again, it might become stronger in its defense.
I was thinking, if the human body is exposed to the same source of infection, again and again, it might become stronger in its defense.
Quote
I remember an infection of rubella, I got it here in Japan, when I was 30 (usually this is a children disease)....it was terrible, painful and I got it together with chickenpox. I was 3 weeks totally out.
Rubella is said to be only one time in your life, but I got it a second time, when I was 50...doctors told me, a second time is possible, but it is much weaker than the first time, yes true, I noticed only shadows on my skin, some little fever. What about a 3rd time I was asking, and I got the reply, this is also possible, but usually the patient will not notice it, as the body will quickly overcome it.
About chickenpox, you have it one time, and then never again, same with measles (rubeola), which I got when I was 6 years old. Now some medical researchers are comparing measles with HIV, as both are knocking down the immune system.
Interesting, that the human body cannot overcome HIV, despite there is plenty of time for a response...
Should you overcome it, will it be only one time in your life, or might you become infected again?
Also interesting, that HIV virus is changing, and Hepatitis virus is changing, but measles virus and rubella virus remain about the same as many decades ago...
Medical research is difficult - too many possibilities.
For HIV - AIDS there is no known cure yet. Will the virus disappear after a while, getting weaker, will the human body defend a weaker HIV infection? Or will the HIV virus getting stronger...who knows?
Rubella is said to be only one time in your life, but I got it a second time, when I was 50...doctors told me, a second time is possible, but it is much weaker than the first time, yes true, I noticed only shadows on my skin, some little fever. What about a 3rd time I was asking, and I got the reply, this is also possible, but usually the patient will not notice it, as the body will quickly overcome it.
About chickenpox, you have it one time, and then never again, same with measles (rubeola), which I got when I was 6 years old. Now some medical researchers are comparing measles with HIV, as both are knocking down the immune system.
Interesting, that the human body cannot overcome HIV, despite there is plenty of time for a response...
Should you overcome it, will it be only one time in your life, or might you become infected again?
Also interesting, that HIV virus is changing, and Hepatitis virus is changing, but measles virus and rubella virus remain about the same as many decades ago...
Medical research is difficult - too many possibilities.
For HIV - AIDS there is no known cure yet. Will the virus disappear after a while, getting weaker, will the human body defend a weaker HIV infection? Or will the HIV virus getting stronger...who knows?
just to put things back in order, some virused are known to have a short life, even though they may infect badly the hosting body, but when the body find it's way out by building antibodies(helped with antiviral chemies or not), most of the virus can't contaminate you anymore or in a very low arn ratio(sorry for medical terms).
hiv and hvc are very different, they can mute, already nine different roots, and hvc(the hepatits C) have develloped now the D one and the E one and the searchers are looking at a possible F root ...
so, the well behaving when you're infected by those, is to :
tell you relatives, so "home" mistakes can be avoided, and then take a great care of yourself.
francois
ps: pitifully, I know what I talk about
Bluecat
Posted 23 November 2005 - 06:54 PM
Thailand death toll from Aids reaches 560,000
23 November 2005. Bangkok Post
The acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (Aids) epidemic has claimed the lives of 560,000 Thais in the past two decades, with another 540,000 people still living with HIV/Aids, a senior health official said today.
While Thailand has earned international praise for its comprehensive anti-Aids campaign, which has included education programs and passing out free condoms to high risk groups, health officials acknowledged Wednesday that the HIV/Aids threat is raising its ugly head again.
"This year there have been 18,000 new cases of HIV, with 77 per cent of them working age people between the ages of 20 to 39, and 84 per cent of them contracting the virus sexually," said Deputy Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul, at a press conference to mark the upcoming World Aids Day on Dec 1.
Anutin said a worrisome trend was an increase in the new infection rate among Thai teenagers between 15 to 19 years old.
His worries were echoed by Mechai Viravaidya, the country's best known anti-Aids camapigner.
"For the past 11 years Thailand successfully reduced new infections by 90 per cent, but surveys conducted over the last two years show an increase of new infections of 30 per cent, mostly among teenagers," said Mr Mechai, a senator and founder of the Population and Community Development Association. He blasted the government for failing to continue its anti-Aids education campaigns and free-condom programs.
"The free condom program has disappeared along with other campaigns, making young people think the Aids problem has gone away, while the opposite is true," said Mechai.
Anutin promised the government would revive its free condom programme next year, providing 24 million free condoms to high risk groups such as sex workers, migrant labourers and people already infected with HIV.
The government has also set a goal of promoting the use of condoms among teenagers by selling cheap prophylactics at 10 baht (25 cents) for a package of three and by providing more condom vending machines nationwide.
23 November 2005. Bangkok Post
The acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (Aids) epidemic has claimed the lives of 560,000 Thais in the past two decades, with another 540,000 people still living with HIV/Aids, a senior health official said today.
While Thailand has earned international praise for its comprehensive anti-Aids campaign, which has included education programs and passing out free condoms to high risk groups, health officials acknowledged Wednesday that the HIV/Aids threat is raising its ugly head again.
"This year there have been 18,000 new cases of HIV, with 77 per cent of them working age people between the ages of 20 to 39, and 84 per cent of them contracting the virus sexually," said Deputy Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul, at a press conference to mark the upcoming World Aids Day on Dec 1.
Anutin said a worrisome trend was an increase in the new infection rate among Thai teenagers between 15 to 19 years old.
His worries were echoed by Mechai Viravaidya, the country's best known anti-Aids camapigner.
"For the past 11 years Thailand successfully reduced new infections by 90 per cent, but surveys conducted over the last two years show an increase of new infections of 30 per cent, mostly among teenagers," said Mr Mechai, a senator and founder of the Population and Community Development Association. He blasted the government for failing to continue its anti-Aids education campaigns and free-condom programs.
"The free condom program has disappeared along with other campaigns, making young people think the Aids problem has gone away, while the opposite is true," said Mechai.
Anutin promised the government would revive its free condom programme next year, providing 24 million free condoms to high risk groups such as sex workers, migrant labourers and people already infected with HIV.
The government has also set a goal of promoting the use of condoms among teenagers by selling cheap prophylactics at 10 baht (25 cents) for a package of three and by providing more condom vending machines nationwide.
Bluecat
Posted 29 November 2005 - 06:35 PM
Thai AIDS "success story" scares Asia
29 November 2005. By dpa Asia correspondents. Bangkok Post
Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand, repeatedly cited by international agencies as a success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS, is offering a new lesson these days.
"If Thailand is a success story imagine what failure is like," said Senator Mechai Viravaidya, whose family planning and anti- AIDS campaigning has made his name synonymous with condoms in Thailand.
Thailand, a country notorious for its commercial sex industry, was one of the first Asian nations to acknowledge it had a serious HIV/AIDS problem in the early 1990's and to do something about it.
In 1991 and 1992, HIV/AIDS education programmes were initiated on radio, public television and in schools; government-funded free condoms were handed out to brothels nationwide; non-governmental organizations received public funding to fight AIDS; and the prime minister was made chairman of the National AIDS Committee.
The World Bank, in a recent study, estimated that the campaign prevented 6.6 million Thais from contracting the virus and saved the country 18.6 billion dollars in health care.
But over the past five years, the anti-HIV/AIDS battle has been sidelined by other national concerns. AIDS education, for instance, was taken away from the prime minister's office and passed on to the health ministry, where it was abandoned. The free condoms programme, for example, was discontinued.
While the government has been good in providing health care for AIDS sufferers, recently including AIDS patients in its subsidized health programme, its record on prevention has taken a hit in recent years.
Consequently, the number of new cases of HIV infection has jumped 30 per cent over the past two years, reaching 18,000 in 2005. Nearly 24 per cent of the new cases are teenagers.
"Young people ask me if AIDS is still around as if they're talking about the Korean War," said Mechai. "If there is no information, people think there is no AIDS."
29 November 2005. By dpa Asia correspondents. Bangkok Post
Bangkok (dpa) - Thailand, repeatedly cited by international agencies as a success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS, is offering a new lesson these days.
"If Thailand is a success story imagine what failure is like," said Senator Mechai Viravaidya, whose family planning and anti- AIDS campaigning has made his name synonymous with condoms in Thailand.
Thailand, a country notorious for its commercial sex industry, was one of the first Asian nations to acknowledge it had a serious HIV/AIDS problem in the early 1990's and to do something about it.
In 1991 and 1992, HIV/AIDS education programmes were initiated on radio, public television and in schools; government-funded free condoms were handed out to brothels nationwide; non-governmental organizations received public funding to fight AIDS; and the prime minister was made chairman of the National AIDS Committee.
The World Bank, in a recent study, estimated that the campaign prevented 6.6 million Thais from contracting the virus and saved the country 18.6 billion dollars in health care.
But over the past five years, the anti-HIV/AIDS battle has been sidelined by other national concerns. AIDS education, for instance, was taken away from the prime minister's office and passed on to the health ministry, where it was abandoned. The free condoms programme, for example, was discontinued.
While the government has been good in providing health care for AIDS sufferers, recently including AIDS patients in its subsidized health programme, its record on prevention has taken a hit in recent years.
Consequently, the number of new cases of HIV infection has jumped 30 per cent over the past two years, reaching 18,000 in 2005. Nearly 24 per cent of the new cases are teenagers.
"Young people ask me if AIDS is still around as if they're talking about the Korean War," said Mechai. "If there is no information, people think there is no AIDS."
yohan
Posted 09 December 2005 - 07:31 PM
francois, on Oct 31 2005, 04:39 PM, said:
... some viruses are known to have a short life, even though they may infect badly the hosting body, but when the body find it's way out by building antibodies(helped with antiviral chemies or not), most of the virus can't contaminate you anymore or in a very low arn ratio(sorry for medical terms).
It seems you know a lot about this subject.
There is plenty of general information available, something like about using a condom.
However information about details are difficult to find.
Just a simple (?) question:
How long will the AIDS virus survive outside of the human body?
For example in menstrual blood on a tampon...or in sperm or vaginal fluid in underwear....
Some information pages say, it can survive only some seconds, other pages are explaining, the virus might be active even in totally dried-up blood or sperm up to 10 or 15 days....
Some pages say, just washing textiles out with soap is ok - the virus will die, other pages are explaining, the virus is active even after many hours, if not washed by hot water over 60 C for at least 15 minutes....
Not so easy to avoid mistakes and to take care, as every source, as far as I can see, offers different opinions. Not only about AIDS....
Bluecat
Posted 02 January 2006 - 04:44 PM
Thai AIDS death toll down sharply in 2005
Published on Jan 02 , 2006. The Nation
The number of deaths from AIDS last year fell sharply because of much wider access to anti-retroviral drugs in Thailand, the public health ministry said Monday.
Some 1,478 people died from AIDS between January and November last year compared to 6,593 for the same period in 2004, the ministry said.
"The sharp drop is because of widespread access to anti-retroviral drugs which resulted in improvements to the lives of people living with AIDS and HIV," Thawat Suntrajarn, the Disease Control Department director said in a statement.
"The ministry has targetted a reduction in new AIDS/HIV cases to not more than16,000 in 2006," or a cut of about 10 percent, Thawat said.
There were an estimated 18,000 new AIDS/HIV cases reported in 2005, mostly among homosexuals and teenagers, he added.
Health authorities will increase their anti-AIDS campaigns for teenagers, particularly in tourist cities such as Pattaya and Phuket, stocking some 24 million condoms in 4,575 vending machines nationwide, Thawat said.
The ministry also aims to drastically reduce babies born HIV-positive. Last year, some 2,400 were born HIV-positive but this year the target is several hundred such infections.
Thailand made low-cost anti-retroviral drugs available on its national health scheme from October for the more than half a million people here living with HIV/AIDS.
The drugs, produced in Thailand, were available as part of a health scheme which allows the poor to receive hospital treatment for 30 baht (75 cents) per visit./Agence France-Presse
Published on Jan 02 , 2006. The Nation
The number of deaths from AIDS last year fell sharply because of much wider access to anti-retroviral drugs in Thailand, the public health ministry said Monday.
Some 1,478 people died from AIDS between January and November last year compared to 6,593 for the same period in 2004, the ministry said.
"The sharp drop is because of widespread access to anti-retroviral drugs which resulted in improvements to the lives of people living with AIDS and HIV," Thawat Suntrajarn, the Disease Control Department director said in a statement.
"The ministry has targetted a reduction in new AIDS/HIV cases to not more than16,000 in 2006," or a cut of about 10 percent, Thawat said.
There were an estimated 18,000 new AIDS/HIV cases reported in 2005, mostly among homosexuals and teenagers, he added.
Health authorities will increase their anti-AIDS campaigns for teenagers, particularly in tourist cities such as Pattaya and Phuket, stocking some 24 million condoms in 4,575 vending machines nationwide, Thawat said.
The ministry also aims to drastically reduce babies born HIV-positive. Last year, some 2,400 were born HIV-positive but this year the target is several hundred such infections.
Thailand made low-cost anti-retroviral drugs available on its national health scheme from October for the more than half a million people here living with HIV/AIDS.
The drugs, produced in Thailand, were available as part of a health scheme which allows the poor to receive hospital treatment for 30 baht (75 cents) per visit./Agence France-Presse
Mandrunk
Posted 25 January 2006 - 10:22 AM
If you have access to broadband, you may be interested in the following link. The BBC's This World program is another of my favourites and the most recent episode is currently available in it's entirety as a streaming broadcast. It was a fascinating watch and although the two downloads amount to nearly 2 hours viewing, I though it was a worthwhile use of my time and I learned a lot about the disease, the myths, stigmas etc etc. There are 2 downloads, the first is a snapshot of the lives of HIV sufferers from around the globe and the second episode where the BBC flies them all to London to meet.
http://news.bbc.co.u...rld/4446286.stm
http://news.bbc.co.u...rld/4446286.stm
OrientExpat
Posted 25 January 2006 - 12:08 PM
China releases new HIV figures showing fewer cases than estimated, but warnings of a serious crisis continue.
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/4645648.stm
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/4645648.stm
francois
Posted 26 January 2006 - 05:41 PM
Quote
How long will the AIDS virus survive outside of the human body?
the answer in a normal environment, let's say 23°C, 45%humidity, = 40mn
when reach a temp upper than 65°C it dies, just a pity we can't warm our blood
they only have a process for blood banks.
and yes I know quite enough about, the last years I was working in hospital I learned a lot and still learn more, medical language is common for me ...
I would have prefered poetry
francois
ps; the easiest way to learn things about medical stuffs is to go visit universities,
with internet it's easy now, and you'll get the latest valid info
This post has been edited by francois: 26 January 2006 - 05:44 PM
Bluecat
Posted 05 February 2006 - 02:16 PM
Ten years on, AIDS time bomb still ticking
4 February 2006. Mainichi News
About 10 years ago, three female masseuses employed at an old, established 'soapland' (bathhouse-cum-brothel) --- no one's saying exactly where --- simultaneously tested positive for HIV. Word of their affliction spread, setting off a panic among the shop's male patrons. The ensuing panic sent some 700 people scrambling for consultations at public health offices.
The primary source of the infection was believed to be a man who patronized sex establishments on a frequent basis, through which he was estimated to have had sexual contact with approximately 150 women.
The fact that such news was leaked at all, notes Jitsuwa Knuckles (March) was remarkable in itself: these secrets are normally kept hushed up among sex industry workers, and this one in particular was, obviously, something that no one in the sex trade could afford to allow to circulate.
Those with knowledge of the affair were sworn to silence. The three infected women were clandestinely spirited away, and soon it was back to business as usual.
But now, after a decade of silence, Jitsuwa Knuckles claims to have tracked down one of the three women from the soapland. Referred to as "Ms. A," she is now in her mid-30s and working in a "hote-toru," a type of underground sex shop located in cheap hotel rooms instead of bathhouses. In other words, she still engages in prostitution for her livelihood.
Ms. Kida (a pseudonym), a former colleague of Ms. A, had lost contact with her, but after a lapse of several years suddenly heard from her again.
"When I heard what she said, I really got scared," said Kida, who lives in the same district.
"To prevent full-blown AIDS, she's been taking suppressant drugs. The medication costs about 100,000 yen a month. Since there's no way she can live on the low wages paid to part-timer workers, she had no choice but to go back into the sex business.
But isn't that risky?
"Why?" Kida counters. "Even if her customers wear condoms, it doesn't make any difference because she's already infected. But I wonder if she's been giving them "raw" oral sex (i.e., without protection). Direct contact may irritate their skin to the point that the virus will penetrate..."
Setting out to track down Ms. A for an interview, Jitsuwa Knuckles' reporter walked through the unnamed city's red-light district. He soon located the hote-toru where the woman worked. The services offered therein, he notes, were considerably inferior to those offered by a mid-range "soapland" --- only a shower together and one bout of sex --- yet the price charged by the establishment was roughly the same: 20,000 yen.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," Ms. A told him unrepentantly. "If there was anyone who's bad, it was the guy who infected me."
She told the reporter she'd had no contacts with the two other colleagues who were infected. The last she'd heard, one of the two was working as a club hostess in a provincial city; the other was being treated for clinical depression, alternatively being admitted and discharged from the hospital.
A Ms. Mizusawa, who works in a high-priced soapland establishment, tells the reporter that in nearly all HIV cases she's aware of, it's the male customers who are the sources of infection.
"In 100 percent of the cases, it's the customers who bring diseases into the bathhouse and not the other way around," she insists. "So in that sense, we women are victims. At Ms. A's shop, most of the regular customers were older men and were easy to satisfy even by wearing condoms. So I suppose the John almost certainly didn't know he was infected at the time. Still, even though having sex without condoms is dangerous, business is business and the shop will give its tacit approval when a customer insists."
If what Mizusawa says is true, it suggests that some shops knowingly permit women who have tested positive for HIV to have sex with customers without the use of condoms.
"One girl working in another shop developed a neurosis after becoming infected with HIV. She wound up committing suicide by jumping off the roof of a business hotel," says Mizusawa.
Jitsuwa Knuckles then drops another bombshell. The spread of HIV, it seems, is being abetted by unethical physicians. At an unnamed clinic that does blood tests, since there is a delay to run an HIV antibody check, the clinic will prematurely issue patients who request it a clean bill of health prior to the HIV results. This loophole permits a sleight-of-hand that is enabling HIV-infected women to continue to hold down jobs at sex shops.
Official projections have estimated Japan will harbor 50,000 HIV carriers by the year 2010. Given the nation's lackadaisical public health enforcement and willingness to sweep the issue under the carpet, the magazine wonders if that figure hasn't already been reached --- or exceeded.
(By Masuo Kamiyama, People's Pick Waiwai contributor.)
4 February 2006. Mainichi News
About 10 years ago, three female masseuses employed at an old, established 'soapland' (bathhouse-cum-brothel) --- no one's saying exactly where --- simultaneously tested positive for HIV. Word of their affliction spread, setting off a panic among the shop's male patrons. The ensuing panic sent some 700 people scrambling for consultations at public health offices.
The primary source of the infection was believed to be a man who patronized sex establishments on a frequent basis, through which he was estimated to have had sexual contact with approximately 150 women.
The fact that such news was leaked at all, notes Jitsuwa Knuckles (March) was remarkable in itself: these secrets are normally kept hushed up among sex industry workers, and this one in particular was, obviously, something that no one in the sex trade could afford to allow to circulate.
Those with knowledge of the affair were sworn to silence. The three infected women were clandestinely spirited away, and soon it was back to business as usual.
But now, after a decade of silence, Jitsuwa Knuckles claims to have tracked down one of the three women from the soapland. Referred to as "Ms. A," she is now in her mid-30s and working in a "hote-toru," a type of underground sex shop located in cheap hotel rooms instead of bathhouses. In other words, she still engages in prostitution for her livelihood.
Ms. Kida (a pseudonym), a former colleague of Ms. A, had lost contact with her, but after a lapse of several years suddenly heard from her again.
"When I heard what she said, I really got scared," said Kida, who lives in the same district.
"To prevent full-blown AIDS, she's been taking suppressant drugs. The medication costs about 100,000 yen a month. Since there's no way she can live on the low wages paid to part-timer workers, she had no choice but to go back into the sex business.
But isn't that risky?
"Why?" Kida counters. "Even if her customers wear condoms, it doesn't make any difference because she's already infected. But I wonder if she's been giving them "raw" oral sex (i.e., without protection). Direct contact may irritate their skin to the point that the virus will penetrate..."
Setting out to track down Ms. A for an interview, Jitsuwa Knuckles' reporter walked through the unnamed city's red-light district. He soon located the hote-toru where the woman worked. The services offered therein, he notes, were considerably inferior to those offered by a mid-range "soapland" --- only a shower together and one bout of sex --- yet the price charged by the establishment was roughly the same: 20,000 yen.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," Ms. A told him unrepentantly. "If there was anyone who's bad, it was the guy who infected me."
She told the reporter she'd had no contacts with the two other colleagues who were infected. The last she'd heard, one of the two was working as a club hostess in a provincial city; the other was being treated for clinical depression, alternatively being admitted and discharged from the hospital.
A Ms. Mizusawa, who works in a high-priced soapland establishment, tells the reporter that in nearly all HIV cases she's aware of, it's the male customers who are the sources of infection.
"In 100 percent of the cases, it's the customers who bring diseases into the bathhouse and not the other way around," she insists. "So in that sense, we women are victims. At Ms. A's shop, most of the regular customers were older men and were easy to satisfy even by wearing condoms. So I suppose the John almost certainly didn't know he was infected at the time. Still, even though having sex without condoms is dangerous, business is business and the shop will give its tacit approval when a customer insists."
If what Mizusawa says is true, it suggests that some shops knowingly permit women who have tested positive for HIV to have sex with customers without the use of condoms.
"One girl working in another shop developed a neurosis after becoming infected with HIV. She wound up committing suicide by jumping off the roof of a business hotel," says Mizusawa.
Jitsuwa Knuckles then drops another bombshell. The spread of HIV, it seems, is being abetted by unethical physicians. At an unnamed clinic that does blood tests, since there is a delay to run an HIV antibody check, the clinic will prematurely issue patients who request it a clean bill of health prior to the HIV results. This loophole permits a sleight-of-hand that is enabling HIV-infected women to continue to hold down jobs at sex shops.
Official projections have estimated Japan will harbor 50,000 HIV carriers by the year 2010. Given the nation's lackadaisical public health enforcement and willingness to sweep the issue under the carpet, the magazine wonders if that figure hasn't already been reached --- or exceeded.
(By Masuo Kamiyama, People's Pick Waiwai contributor.)
Farangmaikwai
Posted 21 February 2006 - 02:26 AM
Before i traveled to Thailand i checked the CIA website to see how common HIV/AIDS is in Thailand, i read about 5% i think, but after three months of holiday, being stupid with 6 girls out of 70, I relised after my holiday, from research on the internet that most of the hiv/aids deaths are recorded as pnemonia and also having no forced tests, and even bar owners knowingly letting infected people continue to work! I had a massive scare and thought my life was over- it didnt help that a fellow farang texted me as a "joke" that the last girl that i spent seven days with was actually infected and went back home!! on top of her not having the phone on, the three months wait for a test was a nightmare- i lost three months of my life worrying so much i was near fainting!!! I really want to tell many of the farangs i met on holiday what i went through and to stop making trainee farangs think that it is all safe!! Yes I was stupid and it was my fault, i thought i was taking a calculated risk- using the wrong numbers.....
Bluecat
Posted 12 June 2006 - 03:59 PM
HIV/AIDS vaccine ends 1st-phase tests
By Zhang Feng. China Daily Publication Date: 12-06-2006
The first stage of a three-phase clinical test for China's first joint HIV/AIDS vaccine has been completed in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The 15-month-long test came to an end over the weekend as scientists of the Guangxi regional Centre for Disease Control and Prevention finished follow-up examinations on 49 volunteers inoculated with the vaccine.
Researchers will write a report based on statistics and experimental data collected in the test. The State Food and Drug Administration will examine the report and decide whether the centre can go ahead with the second phase.
"The aim of the first-phase test is primarily to check the safety of the vaccine," Chen Jie, deputy director of the centre, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.
Currently, all data shows that the reactions of vaccine carriers are normal, and researchers are confident about the approval of the second phase, Chen noted.
The second phase of the trials will test antibody induction and continue to test the safety of the vaccine, Chen added, and more volunteers will be recruited.
The third phase will focus on testing the vaccine's ability to protect high-risk groups including drug abusers and sex workers.
A vaccine can be approved for production and usage only after it passes three test phases.
At present, about 35 AIDS vaccine are being tested on humans in the world. But the majority of them are still in the first phase.
In the 25-year history of the AIDS pandemic, at least 120 vaccines have been tested, and only one, AIDSVAX, has completed the full three-phase trial process. However, it ultimately proved a failure.
"The HIV virus has many sub-types and keeps changing. This makes it incredibly difficult for scientist to find an effective vaccine," said Zeng Yi, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He urged the government to invest more in research work given the country currently has over 650,000 HIV carriers.
"A special national foundation should be established to enhance the development of a vaccine. In the coming years, at least 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) must be invested," Zeng said in a report published recently.
Due to the lack of financial support and shortage of qualified researchers progress has been slow, Zeng said.
He said that in developed countries, thanks to good public education, medical treatment and high-risk activities intervention, the epidemic has been effectively controlled.
However, for developing countries like China, more action still needs to be taken in AIDS education, prevention and control.
Because of this, a vaccine is urgently needed to curb the rapid spread of the virus.
Zeng noted that the economic losses brought by AIDS to China in the coming five years are estimated to exceed 300 billion yuan (US$42.25 billion)
Among China's HIV/AIDS cases, 49.8 per cent were transmitted by unsafe sex, 48.6 per cent by drug injection, and 1.6 per cent from mothers to babies, Zeng said.
By Zhang Feng. China Daily Publication Date: 12-06-2006
The first stage of a three-phase clinical test for China's first joint HIV/AIDS vaccine has been completed in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The 15-month-long test came to an end over the weekend as scientists of the Guangxi regional Centre for Disease Control and Prevention finished follow-up examinations on 49 volunteers inoculated with the vaccine.
Researchers will write a report based on statistics and experimental data collected in the test. The State Food and Drug Administration will examine the report and decide whether the centre can go ahead with the second phase.
"The aim of the first-phase test is primarily to check the safety of the vaccine," Chen Jie, deputy director of the centre, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.
Currently, all data shows that the reactions of vaccine carriers are normal, and researchers are confident about the approval of the second phase, Chen noted.
The second phase of the trials will test antibody induction and continue to test the safety of the vaccine, Chen added, and more volunteers will be recruited.
The third phase will focus on testing the vaccine's ability to protect high-risk groups including drug abusers and sex workers.
A vaccine can be approved for production and usage only after it passes three test phases.
At present, about 35 AIDS vaccine are being tested on humans in the world. But the majority of them are still in the first phase.
In the 25-year history of the AIDS pandemic, at least 120 vaccines have been tested, and only one, AIDSVAX, has completed the full three-phase trial process. However, it ultimately proved a failure.
"The HIV virus has many sub-types and keeps changing. This makes it incredibly difficult for scientist to find an effective vaccine," said Zeng Yi, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He urged the government to invest more in research work given the country currently has over 650,000 HIV carriers.
"A special national foundation should be established to enhance the development of a vaccine. In the coming years, at least 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) must be invested," Zeng said in a report published recently.
Due to the lack of financial support and shortage of qualified researchers progress has been slow, Zeng said.
He said that in developed countries, thanks to good public education, medical treatment and high-risk activities intervention, the epidemic has been effectively controlled.
However, for developing countries like China, more action still needs to be taken in AIDS education, prevention and control.
Because of this, a vaccine is urgently needed to curb the rapid spread of the virus.
Zeng noted that the economic losses brought by AIDS to China in the coming five years are estimated to exceed 300 billion yuan (US$42.25 billion)
Among China's HIV/AIDS cases, 49.8 per cent were transmitted by unsafe sex, 48.6 per cent by drug injection, and 1.6 per cent from mothers to babies, Zeng said.
Bluecat
Posted 21 June 2006 - 06:36 PM
New HIV strain in Thailand
The Nation Publication. Date: 21-06-2006
Experts yesterday (June 20) moved to calm fears over reports of a new strain of the HIV virus, as health officials remained uncertain about the existence of the first reported case in the country.
Dr Thawat Suntharachan, the director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), yesterday said a female patient infected with a mixed strain of HIV was being treated at Siriraj Hospital.
The doctor was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying the patient was found to have a virus strain mixed between the A/E and C sub-types, which had never been reported here before. "The former sub-type is most common in Thailand whereas the latter has only been found in Africa," Thawat said. "Don't panic. Whether it exists or not, it's not going to make any significant change," said Professor Prasert Thongcharoen, the leading virologist at Siriraj Hospital.
As long as people go to Africa and people from Africa come to Thailand, it's no surprise for someone to have caught the disease, he said.
"Even though we have found just one case of a mixture of A/E and C sub-types, it is a sign of the virus mutating . . . and we need to keep a close eye on this issue," he said.
"If you practise safe sex, you won't get any of the species that are out there," he said.
Thawat was later quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying his department, which was cooperating with Siriraj in monitoring the spread of HIV/Aids, hadn't yet received a confirmed report of the strain.
The Nation Publication. Date: 21-06-2006
Experts yesterday (June 20) moved to calm fears over reports of a new strain of the HIV virus, as health officials remained uncertain about the existence of the first reported case in the country.
Dr Thawat Suntharachan, the director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), yesterday said a female patient infected with a mixed strain of HIV was being treated at Siriraj Hospital.
The doctor was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying the patient was found to have a virus strain mixed between the A/E and C sub-types, which had never been reported here before. "The former sub-type is most common in Thailand whereas the latter has only been found in Africa," Thawat said. "Don't panic. Whether it exists or not, it's not going to make any significant change," said Professor Prasert Thongcharoen, the leading virologist at Siriraj Hospital.
As long as people go to Africa and people from Africa come to Thailand, it's no surprise for someone to have caught the disease, he said.
"Even though we have found just one case of a mixture of A/E and C sub-types, it is a sign of the virus mutating . . . and we need to keep a close eye on this issue," he said.
"If you practise safe sex, you won't get any of the species that are out there," he said.
Thawat was later quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying his department, which was cooperating with Siriraj in monitoring the spread of HIV/Aids, hadn't yet received a confirmed report of the strain.
Bluecat
Posted 04 July 2006 - 10:13 AM
Health experts sound alarm over new types of HIV
Detection of subtype C of the virus in Thailand raises fears of new epidemic
4 July 2006. The Nation
Thailand faces the threat of new HIV subtypes, particularly one stemming from the locally common subtype E merged with the foreign subtype C, which is believed to cause the disease to spread wider and faster, experts said yesterday.
"It's feared that the new virus could even trigger a new, major HIV epidemic in the country," said Professor Ruengpung Sutthent, the head of Siriraj Hospital's Department of Microbiology.
The National HIV Repository and Bioinformatic Centre, which monitors genetic changes in the virus, detected this new form of HIV in a random test last year, said Ruengpung, who is also director of the centre.
The centre regularly carries out tests to see whether the virus has undergone any significant alteration in its genetic makeup and last year found subtype C in a combination with subtype E for the first time in the country, Ruengpung said.
"The finding gives us a warning that it (the worst-feared HIV subtype C) is coming," she said.
The new E-C subtype accounted for 0.5 per cent of a total of 201 HIV samples, said Ruengpung, adding that most such infections were in eastern provinces like Rayong and Chonburi.
Subtype C is in more than half of the world's HIV patients and commonly found in Africa, she said, adding that the virus had migrated from the continent to spread across India, China and Burma. It had made its presence felt all over the world before coming to Thailand, said Ruengpung, adding that this subtype was commonly found in heterosexuals and spread faster than any others studied so far.
A John Hopkins University article published last year showed that HIV's "recombinant subtypes" hinted at the possibility of a rapid spread of the disease, said Prof Prasert Thongcharoen, the country's leading virologist.
He said there were already about 20 recombinant subtypes, which could make matters worse due to a faster spread of the virus. As elsewhere in the world, HIV subtypes in Thailand are increasingly and alarmingly getting mixed with one another, with the deadliest threat being posed by subtype C.
Reupung said that, apart from experts' concerns about subtype C's ability to spread fast, its combination with other subtypes raised fears of increased resistance to drugs and about the ongoing HIV vaccine trials.
The world's largest HIV vaccine trials being conducted in Thailand covered only the E and B subtypes, she said.
"Since people are travelling, the best way to prevent further mixings of the subtypes is to practise safe sex," said Dr Winai Ratanasuwan, an assistant professor in Siriraj's Department of Preventive and Social Medi-cine.
Still, the subtype B, commonly found in gay men diagnosed with HIV, had shown a significant genetic change, said Ruengpung. In fact, she said, this form of subtype B was usually found in the US and EU.
This, she said, coincided with the US Centres for Disease Control finding of a higher rate of HIV infection among Thai men who have sex with men.
"The new form of subtype B in Thai gay men may have spread from their counterparts in either America or Europe," she said.
The doctor insisted however that this subtype B was not the one that made headlines in New York City last year when a gay man died only a couple of years after contracting a form of HIV which resisted all available life-saving antiretroviral drugs.
Detection of subtype C of the virus in Thailand raises fears of new epidemic
4 July 2006. The Nation
Thailand faces the threat of new HIV subtypes, particularly one stemming from the locally common subtype E merged with the foreign subtype C, which is believed to cause the disease to spread wider and faster, experts said yesterday.
"It's feared that the new virus could even trigger a new, major HIV epidemic in the country," said Professor Ruengpung Sutthent, the head of Siriraj Hospital's Department of Microbiology.
The National HIV Repository and Bioinformatic Centre, which monitors genetic changes in the virus, detected this new form of HIV in a random test last year, said Ruengpung, who is also director of the centre.
The centre regularly carries out tests to see whether the virus has undergone any significant alteration in its genetic makeup and last year found subtype C in a combination with subtype E for the first time in the country, Ruengpung said.
"The finding gives us a warning that it (the worst-feared HIV subtype C) is coming," she said.
The new E-C subtype accounted for 0.5 per cent of a total of 201 HIV samples, said Ruengpung, adding that most such infections were in eastern provinces like Rayong and Chonburi.
Subtype C is in more than half of the world's HIV patients and commonly found in Africa, she said, adding that the virus had migrated from the continent to spread across India, China and Burma. It had made its presence felt all over the world before coming to Thailand, said Ruengpung, adding that this subtype was commonly found in heterosexuals and spread faster than any others studied so far.
A John Hopkins University article published last year showed that HIV's "recombinant subtypes" hinted at the possibility of a rapid spread of the disease, said Prof Prasert Thongcharoen, the country's leading virologist.
He said there were already about 20 recombinant subtypes, which could make matters worse due to a faster spread of the virus. As elsewhere in the world, HIV subtypes in Thailand are increasingly and alarmingly getting mixed with one another, with the deadliest threat being posed by subtype C.
Reupung said that, apart from experts' concerns about subtype C's ability to spread fast, its combination with other subtypes raised fears of increased resistance to drugs and about the ongoing HIV vaccine trials.
The world's largest HIV vaccine trials being conducted in Thailand covered only the E and B subtypes, she said.
"Since people are travelling, the best way to prevent further mixings of the subtypes is to practise safe sex," said Dr Winai Ratanasuwan, an assistant professor in Siriraj's Department of Preventive and Social Medi-cine.
Still, the subtype B, commonly found in gay men diagnosed with HIV, had shown a significant genetic change, said Ruengpung. In fact, she said, this form of subtype B was usually found in the US and EU.
This, she said, coincided with the US Centres for Disease Control finding of a higher rate of HIV infection among Thai men who have sex with men.
"The new form of subtype B in Thai gay men may have spread from their counterparts in either America or Europe," she said.
The doctor insisted however that this subtype B was not the one that made headlines in New York City last year when a gay man died only a couple of years after contracting a form of HIV which resisted all available life-saving antiretroviral drugs.
Bluecat
Posted 18 August 2006 - 02:53 PM
AIDS vaccine tested to be safe, possibly effective
(Xinhua). Updated: 2006-08-18
Clinical trials indicate China's first AIDS vaccine is safe and possibly effective, government officials announced on Friday.
Forty-nine healthy people who received the injection showed no severe adverse reactions after 180 days, proving the vaccine was safe, said Zhang Wei, head of the pharmaceutical registration department of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
The recipients appeared immune to the HIV-1 virus 15 days after the injection, indicating the vaccine worked well in stimulating the body's immunity, said Zhang at a press conference held jointly by the SFDA and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The results mark the end of the first phase of the clinical trials of the AIDS vaccine, which targeted at safety.
The first phase was launched in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on March 12 last year. The volunteers, 33 men and 16 women aged between 18 and 50, had received the vaccine by October 20.
They were divided into eight groups. Six groups received a single AIDS vaccine and two other groups were injected with a combined AIDS vaccine, according to Guangxi Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Some recipients' cells and body fluids in the combined group appeared immune to HIV-1 virus, said Sang Guowei, director of the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products.
The HIV-1 specific cells injected into the recipients was the DNA fragments of the virus and was harmless to the recipients, he told Xinhua.
A total of 344 blood samples were taken from the volunteers with each one donated five to ten samples, according to Kong Wei, the leader of the research team who is a professor of Jilin University.
The scientists are analyzing the results of the first phase and will decide whether to continue to the second phase, SFDA officials said.
If the test enters the second phase, more volunteers will be recruited, especially from the high-risk groups, said Chen Jie, deputy head of the Guangxi's CDC.
It was a breakthrough in China's AIDS vaccine development, which was achieved with joint supports from the central and local governments, scientific researchers, the general public and international counterparts, said Liu Yanhua, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The State Food and Drug Administration approved the first phase of clinical trials of the new AIDS vaccine in November 2004.
The vaccine must undergo three phases of clinical trials before going into production. The second phase will assess both safety and and immunity while the third will target the protectiveness for high-risk groups.
(Xinhua). Updated: 2006-08-18
Clinical trials indicate China's first AIDS vaccine is safe and possibly effective, government officials announced on Friday.
Forty-nine healthy people who received the injection showed no severe adverse reactions after 180 days, proving the vaccine was safe, said Zhang Wei, head of the pharmaceutical registration department of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
The recipients appeared immune to the HIV-1 virus 15 days after the injection, indicating the vaccine worked well in stimulating the body's immunity, said Zhang at a press conference held jointly by the SFDA and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The results mark the end of the first phase of the clinical trials of the AIDS vaccine, which targeted at safety.
The first phase was launched in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on March 12 last year. The volunteers, 33 men and 16 women aged between 18 and 50, had received the vaccine by October 20.
They were divided into eight groups. Six groups received a single AIDS vaccine and two other groups were injected with a combined AIDS vaccine, according to Guangxi Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Some recipients' cells and body fluids in the combined group appeared immune to HIV-1 virus, said Sang Guowei, director of the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products.
The HIV-1 specific cells injected into the recipients was the DNA fragments of the virus and was harmless to the recipients, he told Xinhua.
A total of 344 blood samples were taken from the volunteers with each one donated five to ten samples, according to Kong Wei, the leader of the research team who is a professor of Jilin University.
The scientists are analyzing the results of the first phase and will decide whether to continue to the second phase, SFDA officials said.
If the test enters the second phase, more volunteers will be recruited, especially from the high-risk groups, said Chen Jie, deputy head of the Guangxi's CDC.
It was a breakthrough in China's AIDS vaccine development, which was achieved with joint supports from the central and local governments, scientific researchers, the general public and international counterparts, said Liu Yanhua, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The State Food and Drug Administration approved the first phase of clinical trials of the new AIDS vaccine in November 2004.
The vaccine must undergo three phases of clinical trials before going into production. The second phase will assess both safety and and immunity while the third will target the protectiveness for high-risk groups.
Bluecat
Posted 26 August 2006 - 01:30 PM
Tenofovir drug to be sold cheaply
26 August 2006. The Nation
Experts say drug has been tested on Thais with satisfactory result
The antiretroviral drug Tenofovir used to treat HIV/AIDS patients will be available on the Thai market for around US$1 (Bt38) per tablet, 90 per cent cheaper than on the US or European markets.
Prof Dr Prapan Panupark, director of the Thai Red Cross Society's AIDS Research Centre has told a press conference that the centre and related officials had been informed by a US-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, Gilead, that the drug Tenofovir had been registered with the Thai Food and Drug Adminis-tration on August 15.
Tenofovir is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have become resistant to GPO-Vir, made by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and those with the hepatitis B virus. The drug is in the same group as AZT, D4T and DDI drugs, but has less powerful side-effects of sunken cheeks and withered legs and arms and has been used in treating HIV/AIDS patients in many countries. In the US alone it has been used for over three years at a cost of around Bt15,000 per month per head, Prapan said.
As Tenofovir is used in combination with two other antiviral medications, such as 3TC (Epivir) and Nevirapine, both of which can be manufactured in Thailand, treatment here would cost around Bt2,600 per month per person, he said. If used together with Efavirenz, the bill would come to around Bt5,000 per month per head.
Prapan said with more and more patients developing GPO-Vir resistance, there is a need for a new drug.
He insisted the press conference had not been called to help promote the pharmaceutical company and he did not know which company would be a distributor in Thailand. The move was simply to inform people about the pricing scheme to help prevent unrealistic overpricing.
Physician Anchalee Avihing-sanon of the HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration said Tenofovir had been tested on 600 patients in Thailand and had yielded a satisfactory result with fewer side-affects.
However the drug has been found to affect kidney function, although only 20 such cases have occurred world-wide, with only one case in Thailand. Anchalee said however that the Thai patient had experienced previous kidney problems.
The Disease Control Depart-ment director-general Thawat Sunthrajarn said Tenofovir was sold at high prices in other countries and it was therefore positive it would be sold cheaply in Thailand, as it is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have built up resistance to other medications.
26 August 2006. The Nation
Experts say drug has been tested on Thais with satisfactory result
The antiretroviral drug Tenofovir used to treat HIV/AIDS patients will be available on the Thai market for around US$1 (Bt38) per tablet, 90 per cent cheaper than on the US or European markets.
Prof Dr Prapan Panupark, director of the Thai Red Cross Society's AIDS Research Centre has told a press conference that the centre and related officials had been informed by a US-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, Gilead, that the drug Tenofovir had been registered with the Thai Food and Drug Adminis-tration on August 15.
Tenofovir is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have become resistant to GPO-Vir, made by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and those with the hepatitis B virus. The drug is in the same group as AZT, D4T and DDI drugs, but has less powerful side-effects of sunken cheeks and withered legs and arms and has been used in treating HIV/AIDS patients in many countries. In the US alone it has been used for over three years at a cost of around Bt15,000 per month per head, Prapan said.
As Tenofovir is used in combination with two other antiviral medications, such as 3TC (Epivir) and Nevirapine, both of which can be manufactured in Thailand, treatment here would cost around Bt2,600 per month per person, he said. If used together with Efavirenz, the bill would come to around Bt5,000 per month per head.
Prapan said with more and more patients developing GPO-Vir resistance, there is a need for a new drug.
He insisted the press conference had not been called to help promote the pharmaceutical company and he did not know which company would be a distributor in Thailand. The move was simply to inform people about the pricing scheme to help prevent unrealistic overpricing.
Physician Anchalee Avihing-sanon of the HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration said Tenofovir had been tested on 600 patients in Thailand and had yielded a satisfactory result with fewer side-affects.
However the drug has been found to affect kidney function, although only 20 such cases have occurred world-wide, with only one case in Thailand. Anchalee said however that the Thai patient had experienced previous kidney problems.
The Disease Control Depart-ment director-general Thawat Sunthrajarn said Tenofovir was sold at high prices in other countries and it was therefore positive it would be sold cheaply in Thailand, as it is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have built up resistance to other medications.
francois
Posted 04 October 2006 - 03:00 PM
hi
the problem faced in Asia generaly is the virus itself, which have mutated into diverse forms, we can count 9 of them now, so even a quadri theraphy could be innefficient, among all these forms some are really virulent, fast and deadly ...
we know face a problem we know already, resistance to some antibiotic for some diseases, so, it's a bit the same with aids ...
the only vaccine known to work around 99% is CONDOM!
francois
the problem faced in Asia generaly is the virus itself, which have mutated into diverse forms, we can count 9 of them now, so even a quadri theraphy could be innefficient, among all these forms some are really virulent, fast and deadly ...
we know face a problem we know already, resistance to some antibiotic for some diseases, so, it's a bit the same with aids ...
the only vaccine known to work around 99% is CONDOM!
francois
britmaveric
Posted 04 October 2006 - 07:08 PM
Farangmaikwai, on Feb 21 2006, 02:26 AM, said:
Before i traveled to Thailand i checked the CIA website to see how common HIV/AIDS is in Thailand, i read about 5% i think, but after three months of holiday, being stupid with 6 girls out of 70
No condom????
TizMe
Posted 04 October 2006 - 08:49 PM
Estimated Number of HIV cases 580,000 in 2005, just under 1% of the entire population.
Remove the old, the celibate, the monogamous, the very low risk members of the population and by the time you get to your average sex worker the infection rate must be well over 10%.
Sounds like Russian Roulette to me...
Remove the old, the celibate, the monogamous, the very low risk members of the population and by the time you get to your average sex worker the infection rate must be well over 10%.
Quote
being stupid with 6 girls out of 70
Sounds like Russian Roulette to me...
This post has been edited by TizMe: 04 October 2006 - 08:51 PM