The human trial of the HIV-1 Immunogen therapeutic vaccine has been given yet another chance with a decision by Public Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi for a meeting to be convened to review its results and a proposal to continue research. The decision was made at a meeting of Thailand s top experts in HIV vaccine devel
The annual United Nations report shows that Aids continues to spread, around the world and in our region. The greatest danger is lack of attention by authorities. The refusal by Burma to deal with the epidemic is the third threat to Thailand , after drugs and uncontrolled immigration. The news is not good from the
Efforts to curb the spread of Aids are being undermined by an official attitude that holds rigidly to one position. The authorities will not provide free needles to drug addicts, who constitute the highest risk group, because drug abuse is illegal and they do not want to be seen to be promoting it. Campaigners against
A drug which drastically lowers rates of mother-to-child HIV transmission may be donated free of charge to the health system for five years. The drug Nevirapine has proven more successful than the use of Zidovudine ( AZT ). HIV/Aids experts meet this month to consider the number of pregnant women who should get the dru
Boy was totally bewildered when he learned his new wife was HIV-positive, because he tested negative. A well-established office employee in his twenties, Boy admitted he had many casual sex partners before he was married but insisted he had always practised safe-sex and used a condom. He regarded his wife as very riab-
For a country that has managed to cut down the number of new HIV infections so drastically-from an annual increase of 137,000 cases in 1990 to only 29,000 this year- Thailand definitely deserves kudos for Aids campaigns. And yet not everyone is clapping. A recent report from the World Bank estimated that about one mill
Clinical research on the use of a seaweed gel to prevent sexual transmission of HIV is being conducted on 165 women in Chiang Rai, the HIV/Aids Collaboration announced yesterday. Dr Khanchit Limpkanjanawat, co-director of the HIV/Aids Collaboration said the study, being conducted with the Population Council, is to meas
The Council of State has ruled out abortions for pregnant women with HIV/Aids in spite of growing pressure for a change in the law. The council based its decision on the premise that women with HIV/Aids will eventually die, so their health should not be considered an important factor in permitting them to terminate pre
Despite past successes in containing the rate of new HIV/Aids infection, the government needs to be prepared for new challenges as the epidemic evolves, according to the World Bank s first report on Thailand s Response to Aids . Thailand has had one of the most successful approaches to HIV/Aids. However, Aids in Thaila
Kaew, 38, from Ubon Ratchathani, might have lost her baby if she had not taken anti-retroviral drugs to stop transmission of HIV. She is one of 577 pregnant women who took a short course of zidovudine, or AZT , in a Public Health Ministry pilot programme in the Northeast to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Thailand has had to pay a high price for acting too late in preventing HIV/Aids, an epidemic which will continue to take the country down if immediate emphasis is not made to prevent its spread, according to the World Bank s first report on the country s response to Aids. The report, to be officially released next mo
The Medical Council has drafted guidelines for doctors dealing with HIV/Aids, to set up a standard practice that should lead to better understanding between doctors and patients. The guidelines will be considered by the Medical Council s administrative committee, said Vichai Chokeviwat, a member of the drafting committ
Not long after Thailand won applause for HIV/Aids prevention, the country has witnessed a rise in the epidemic among pregnant women. The latest report of the Public Health Ministry s Epidemiology Division showed 1.76% of pregnant women were infected with HIV last year against 1.53% in 1998. While the overall pictur
Despite Thailand s success in reducing new HIV infections, it needs to strengthen prevention campaigns among heterosexuals and intravenous drug users, or face a serious rapid relapse, according to the latest projection for the country. Thailand s campaign to promote 100% condom use has successfully reduced HIV transmis
A patient who was wrongly diagnosed and treated as HIV-positive for almost two years yesterday petitioned the Ministry of Public Health, demanding compensation and accountability from Mae Taeng hospital in Chiang Mai. Nirandon Khamchaiphum displays a medical examination certificate which states wrongly that he is HIV-i
A relatively simple and inexpensive procedure of sperm washing is enabling HIV-positive men to have children with their virus-free partners. Though doctors cannot guarantee the procedure, first conducted in the Italian city of Milan, is 100% safe, the hundreds of babies born through this method since the early 1990s re
Public Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi yesterday underlined the urgency for the development of a safe, effective and affordable HIV vaccine with the number of cases here expected to reach one million by this yearend. Aids activists set up tents at the Public Health Ministry in preparation for a long-haul protest agains
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