Bangkok youths top Thai list for 2006
Bangkok youths aged between 15-24 accounted for the highest number of Aids patients in Thailand last year, Department of Disease Control director-general Thawat Suntharajarn said yesterday.
The number of Aids patients in Bangkok is currently 92. In descending order after Bangkok on the list are Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nonthaburi, Phayao, Khon Kaen, Rayong, Lampang, Songkhla and Samut Prakan. The number of Aids cases was 70 in 2002 - a decrease from 1992 and 1996 - before numbers increased again during the 1997-1999 period. The first Aids case in Bangkok was detected in 1987 in a 23-year-old male student. Dr Thawat said young peoples' decision to not use condoms as they "felt unnatural" was the reason for the increase in Aids cases. The other reason is that young men were too shy to buy condoms from pharmacies or convenience stores. The number of people between 15 and 24 becoming sexually active rose between 1997 and 1999 in both sexes, while the use of condoms fell.
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