New HIV strain here
Experts yesterday 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
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