Number of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Cases Increasing in Thailand, Data Show
The number of cases of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Thailand has increased to 60,000, according to data released on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reports. The data, collected by the Department of Non-Formal Education and presented by Mahidol University's Faculty of Medicine Deputy Professor Sunee Lakampan, also show that there are 100,000 AIDS orphans in the country (Xinhua News Agency, 1/8). Sunee estimated that there could be approximately 200,000 HIV-positive children in the country by 2005, an increase of between 5,000 to 8,000 cases per year, according to the Thai News Service (Thai News Service, 1/9). Sunee said that the "current situation of poverty, disease and lack of opportunity" for children in the country is a "vicious cycle," according to Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, 1/8).
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