Beat It!

The global fight against HIV/AIDS comes to Bangkok next week in the form of the XV International AIDS Conference and students all over the country will participate in activities designed to raise awareness

"Prevention and access to care and treatment need to go hand-in-hand," says Senator Mechai Viravaidya, famous for his work in the field of sexual health. "In Thailand, we are proud of the excellent community programmes that get to the heart of the problem, working at grass-roots level. We wish to share our experiences with other Asian countries, as well as those in similar positions around the world. The Community Programme at this year’s International AIDS Conference will be the perfect opportunity for us to learn from each other."

If you are a student, you’ll find yourself learning a lot about the disease in the coming weeks. Some of you may be attending the conference itself or participating in other events organised by the education ministry or your own school.

In today’s learning post, we have devoted our cover page to providing up-to-date information about the whole HIV/AIDS issue and outlining the basics of the condition. Teachers can find ideas on how to use this information in the classroom in our learner’s centre section on page 5. We also have details on some of the upcoming events during conference week.

HIV is an acronym for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV destroys certain blood cells that are crucial to the normal function of the immune system, which defends the body against illness.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. It occurs when the immune system is weakened by HIV to the point where a person develops any number of diseases or cancers.

HIV Detection is most commonly detected through the test of a sample of blood or oral fluid. If the blood or oral fluid sample contains HIV antibodies – proteins the body produces to fight off the infection – the person is considered "HIV-positive".

HIV can be spread by sexual contact with an infected person or by sharing needles and other injecting equipment. The disease can also be transmitted through transfusions of infected blood, although this is now very rare in countries, including Thailand, where blood is screened for HIV antibodies. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth.

HIV does not survive well outside the body. Therefore, it cannot be transmitted through casual, everyday contact such as kissing or drinking from the same glass as an infected person. Mosquitoes and other insects do not transmit HIV.

Of the estimated 14,000 new HIV infections that occur each day worldwide, about half are among young people aged 15-24. Women account for half of the world’s population living with HIV. Ultimately, we are all vulnerable to the disease unless we are careful. Those who have many sexual partners and do not use condoms carry the highest risk of catching HIV along with drug users who share needles.

Since most HIV infection is passed via sexual contact, safe sex is a must. This means using a condom. Abstinence from sex (avoiding sexual activity) or keeping the number of sexual partners (whilst practicing safe sex) to a minimum will also reduce the risk considerably.

There are a number of treatments available to combat the effects of HIV but, currently, there is no cure. "Anti-retroviral" drugs can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system and other diseases associated with the AIDS virus can be eliminated depending on level of infection. Access to these treatments, however, depends on where you live, with those in the poorer communities finding it the most difficult.

Generally speaking, access to treatment in Thailand is fairly good and can be relatively cheap if you attend a hospital in your own province. Treatment outside your province can be expensive in terms of increased medical costs and transportation.

There are a whole range of HIV symptoms, many of which are associated with common ailments such as drowsiness or headaches. Just because you have these symptoms obviously doesn’t mean that you have HIV. However, if any ailment persists longer than normal, seek medical attention.

Those who are worried because they have had casual unprotected sex or shared a needle should take an HIV test. These are available at any hospital and normally take the form of a blood sample which is then analysed for the presence of HIV antibodies. If the hospital uses modern methods, you can usually find out the results within a few hours.

In order to be 100% sure, doctors recommend a confirmation test if you test positive the first time. If you test negative, it maybe worthwhile re-testing a few months later as the body can sometimes take up to 3 months to begin producing HIV antibodies.

"Most people react to the news with shock because they think they are going to die," says Dr Yuthana Budsayavith, immunologist at Bangkok Nursing Home. "But we spend a lot of time with them explaining the treatments and showing that there is still hope."

The good news is that modern treatments help most HIV positive people to live relatively normal lives for quite some time.

"First, we have to know their immunity level and viral load concentration in the blood," explains Dr Yuthana. "If the CD4 count (quantity of cells which control the immune system) is okay, they don’t need antiretroviral medication at the moment. Patients just need to change their lifestyle a little to avoid illness. Nutrition and exercise are important to give you the energy to fight the virus and you have to reduce alcohol and nicotine intake. Eat good clean food as you cannot afford to have diarrhea and avoid contact with animals which may pass on difficult-to-treat opportunistic infection."

The normal CD4 count for healthy adults is between 500-1500. If it drops to 200, HIV positive people can be prone to many life-threatening diseases. However, doctors won’t wait until the last minute, beginning antiretroviral treatment when CD4 reaches 250. Antiretroviral drugs increase immunity levels and, from then on, it is a case of controlling it by balancing medication with a healthy lifestyle.

Stigma and discrimination can make life worse for those living with HIV/AIDS, especially for young people who are trying to establish an identity. It’s a sad fact that those who do not fully understand the nature of the disease can sometimes be prejudiced against people living with HIV. This might take the form of harassment (verbal and physical) or social rejection and isolation. It could also mean that those who have HIV may be prevented from being employed in certain jobs, even though their illness does not affect their ability to work and their risk of infecting others is virtually non-existent.

In the modern world, it seems not a day goes by without some form of prejudice and intolerance making the news. The only hope is that education will help bring about a more tolerant society so that those living with HIV can be free of the psychological torture that comes with discrimination. The bottom line is that people who have HIV deserve the same dignity and rights to a normal life as people living with any other illness.

Whilst there is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS, it can now be controlled and many who have contracted the disease lead relatively normal lives for many years.

The spread of HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic and, as such, can affect anyone regardless of their nationality, gender or sexual orientation. People in these groups may be at a slightly higher risk than most but no longer make up the bulk of the HIV population.

Many victims, such as the children of infected mothers, have no control over catching the disease. Others contract it because they have not had access to education in HIV prevention, often because community leaders won’t allow it. Educating people about prevention will help reduce cases significantly.

Thailand will be the focus of media attention next week when the country hosts the 15^th International Aids Conference in Bangkok. People who have an interest in the HIV/AIDS epidemic will converge at the IMPACT Arena in Muang Thong Thani from 11^th – 16^th July to discuss issues surrounding the disease and share knowledge. Attendees will include medical professionals, scientists, politicians, NGO’s, world leaders, educators, religious institutions, journalists, youth representatives, people living with HIV/AIDS, care volunteers and even international pop and movie stars who will be there to promote awareness.

Delegations of Thai students will also be at the conference to lend their voice to the proceedings and meet with those who make decisions affecting our everyday lives.

It promises to be an attention-grabbing event with hundreds of debates, activities and major speeches happening throughout the week. Unfortunately, unless you are already part of a registered delegation, you won’t be able to visit most of the main conference. The good news, however, is that a "Global Village" will be open to the general public. This will give people the chance to meet those from the HIV/AIDS community and learn more about advocacy and campaigns with stalls and many creative activities to get involved in. The Global Village is based in the Convention Centre of IMPACT and open between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. from Monday 12^th to Friday 16^th July.

For more information about the conference visit: www.aids2004.org

The Ministries of Education and Public Health have organised a range of activities in co-operation with schools throughout the country. All schools in Bangkok will be closed during the week of the conference with many students either going to IMPACT or a Youth Camp which will take place at Thammasat University in Rangsit. The youth camp will accommodate over 3000 students and a full week of activities is planned including HIV/AIDS awareness, drama, arts and sports events. Places on the camp are limited but your teacher may have more information on availability.

Schools in the rest of Thailand will remain open and are encouraged to provide HIV/AIDS awareness activities for students. Ask your teacher for more details.

You can find out more student information about what will be happening during conference week by visiting www.againstaidsclub.com

Teachers can read our suggestions for conference week activities by turning to ‘the learner’s centre’ on page 5

The Internet can be a useful research tool when trying to find out information about HIV/AIDS. It can also be a minefield of myths, prejudice and exaggerations. As a rule of thumb, websites which are factually based tend to be the most reliable. Those AIDS –related websites with a political or religious agenda are best avoided as they are often biased and prejudiced against people living with HIV.

Here are two safe sites that should be able to answer most, if not all, of your questions:

www.aids.org

www.unaids.org

Tell us what went on in your school during the conference week and what you learnt about HIV and AIDS. Did you go to the conference or the youth camp? Tell us about your experience. e-mail us with your comments and pictures before Thursday 22^nd July at: learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th or send them to learningpost, 136 Na Ranong, Rd, off Sunthorn Kosa Rd, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110.

We’ll publish the best and most imaginative entries. Don’t forget to write in English!