The Bureau of AIDS, TB and STIs has revealed that new cases of HIV in Thailand are declining to less than 10,000 per year, due to higher use of condoms and advancements in preventive medicine.
Dr Saman Fuutrakul, director of the bureau, said during a press conference that the rate of new HIV cases per year has dropped from its peak of 150,000 to between 6,000 and 10,000. The Ministry of Public Health plans on reducing the rate of new cases to less than 1,000 per year by 2030.
Dr Pannee Pitisutham, head of the Vaccine Center of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University, revealed that the progress of developing an AIDS vaccine in Thailand has entered its third phase. The most recent testing on HIV-positive volunteers saw an increase in immune cells. The results are promising, as HIV infection can lead to a progressive failure of the immune system.
The center is conducting tests under the AD26 program, which involves administering the vaccine to male volunteers.
