Warning for new HIV strains

Thai health experts warn the country is facing the threat of new strains of HIV, potentially spreading HIV / AIDS faster.

Thailand's National Center for Biological and HIV Information in a test late last year found the new virus. The center then regularly conducts tests to find out whether the virus has any significant changes in gene structure.

AIDS virus (Photo: lanl.gov)

Experts conclude for the first time in Thailand that a virus associated with HIV strain E in Thailand appears with the C strain from abroad, the most feared virus.

Professor Ruengpung, the director of the center, said the new EC virus appeared within about 0.5% of 201 samples. Most of these new infections are in the eastern provinces, such as Rayong or Chonboong.

A report by John Hopkins University, published late last year, also showed that "combination viruses" could potentially accelerate the rate of disease spread.

According to Professor Prasert Thongcharoen, a leading scientist in research on the virus in Thailand, there are about 20 combination strains in the world today that can spread quickly. The HIV strains in Thailand are also growing in an alarmingly fast way to combine.

Professor Reupung also said that, apart from the ability to spread rapidly, the combination of strain C with other strains worries about the resistance of the combined strains, the effect of HIV vaccine tests is currently underway. now on. In Thailand vaccine tests are only conducted for strains E and B.

Experts say that, while trials are still underway, the emergence of new complex HIV strains should take precautions.

Chief Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Gary Lewis called on countries in the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate the campaign to stop HIV / AIDS epidemic, especially among target groups. drug injection. He said that in some countries HIV spreads rapidly among high-risk groups, including drug injection, so "action must be taken immediately".

Speaking at a United Nations regional working group meeting on HIV / AIDS in the injecting drug group (IDUs), just in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Lewis said: "If we target the group This statue, we can have a real opportunity to curb the spread of HIV to the community. "

The United Nations estimates that there are between 1.3 million and 5.3 million injecting drug users in South and Southeast Asia. HIV / AIDS is still raging in IDUs in some countries, such as Malaysia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia, or Nepal and Bangladesh in South Asia.

Access to health care services in the injecting drug group is less than 5% in most countries in the region. Services include education, needles, therapies, including drugs such as methadone (anesthetic).

The United Nations recommends that if countries cannot raise this rate from 50% to 80%, there will be no change in preventing HIV from spreading. In order to make changes, in the next 3 to 5 years countries need to promote a "widely criticized" campaign in the community of injecting drug users to prevent the spread of the virus.

CHU HONG THANG