from Medical Issues

HIV Rates Rising Dramatically
In Asia Among Gays/Bisexuals

March 23, 2006 - The Associated Press reported on March 22 that HIV infections are on a steep increase throughout Asia. The data comes from a U.N.-funded surveillance program that is monitoring the worldwide AIDS pandemic.

In Bangkok, Thailand, HIV rates among gay and bisexual men increased from 17% in 2003 to 28% in 2005, according to a Thai study and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Phucid Junsaengsook with the gay-affirmative Rainbow Sky Association expressed concern about gays and bisexuals seeking out unsafe sex in bathhouses. He observed: "For those who go to a bathhouse, they want to have fun. Sometime when they meet people, they are living in the moment and don't worry about a condom. This really worries me. It's not about only one person's health. It's about everyone around them. I have a lot of friends who contracted HIV just because they had unprotected sex once."

Similar trends were discovered by the U.N. surveillance program in Mumbai, India (18%) and 12.8% in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

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