What's New

The first case of HIV infection in Hong Kong was reported in 1984. The Department of Health has received a cumulative total of 4832 reports of HIV infection under the voluntary and anonymous HIV/AIDS reporting system as of year 2010. The number of annual reports increased gradually over the past few years despite a mild drop in past two years. The number of HIV reports in 2010 was 389. People infected with HIV progress to AIDS when they suffer from severe immunodeficiency due to HIV. The increasing trend of AIDS reports was ceased in 1997, most likely contributed by the introduction of effective highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) around then. A slight rise in AIDS cases was observed in recent years but the ratio of HIV to AIDS remained stable. In 2010, 79 AIDS reports were received. The most common illnesses presenting at AIDS were Pneumocystis pneumonia and tuberculosis.

In February 2011, there were 159 new HIV Ab seropositive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry (Table 1). This was a 22% increase compared to the same period last year (n=130 in 2010) [Figure 1].

In February 2008, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, launched his Campaign "UNiTE to End Violence against Women", 2008-2015. Through the Campaign, the Secretary-General is spearheading the accelerated efforts of the United Nations system to address violence against women. This inventory gives an overview of past and ongoing activities on violence against women by the entities of the United Nations system, including those which will contribute to the achievement of the five key outcomes of the Secretary-General’s Campaign by 2015. It is compiled by the Division for the Advancement of Women, now part of UN Women, as a contribution to the work of the Task Force on violence against women of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality.

In 2005, the predecessor of this Committee, Scientific Committee on AIDS, published its set of recommended principles of antiretroviral therapy to provide general guidance for the use of antiretrovirals in Hong Kong. The document stated nine major principles of antiretroviral use. Since then, progress has been made in the realm of HIV management. There have also been corresponding changes in local practice. This Committee therefore undertook to re-examine the document with a view to updates where appropriate. As before, the effort focussed on major principles rather than details of antiretroviral use.

This Regional Issues Brief has been written to provide an overview of an area of enquiry that the Global Commission on HIV and the Law is examining – issues of laws pertaining to intellectual property rights and access to medicines. It has been undertaken through a literature review of laws and documentation of their enforcement in the context of Asia and the Pacific. It serves as an information resource and complements the report of the Regional Dialogue for Asia and the Pacific that was held under the auspices of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law in Bangkok on 16 and 17 February 2011. Significant advances in treatment access in the Asia Pacific region have resulted from the work of activists who have campaigned to ensure that intellectual property laws do not impose unreasonable constraints on access to HIV medicines. Activists have achieved a number of successes through campaigning and litigation in Thailand and India. The focus of campaigning has been on challenging overbroad patents and trade agreements that block production and importation of affordable generic versions of HIV medicines. The legal response to access to medicines in the region continues to be influenced by heated policy debates between consumer activists and the mainstream pharmaceutical industry.

The HIV epidemic in Vietnam is concentrated primarily in injecting drug users (IDUs). To prevent HIV-1 super-infection and to develop effective HIV prevention programs, data are needed to understand the characteristics of high risk HIV-positive IDUs. In 2003, we conducted a community-based cross-sectional study among predominately male, out-of-treatment IDUs, aged 18–45, in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam. Among 299 male participants, 42.8% were HIV-positive and among those, 96.9% did not know their status prior to the study. Thirty-two percent were HIV-positive and had high HIV behavioral risk (having unprotected sex or having shared injecting equipment in the past 6 months). Injecting for ≥ 3 years, younger age, and pooling money to buy drugs were independently associated with being at high risk for transmitting HIV. IDUs who purchased >1 syringe at a time were less likely to have high HIV behavioral risk. Structural interventions that increase syringe accessibility may be effective in reducing HIV risk behavior among HIV-positive IDUs. Study limitations are noted in the text.

In January 2011, there were 152 new HIV Ab seropositive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry (Table 1). This was a 6% increase compared to the same period last year (n=143 in 2010) [Figure 1].

Continuing comprehensive assessment of population health gap is essential for effective health planning. This paper assessed changes in the magnitude and pattern of disease burden in Thailand between 1999 and 2004. It further drew lessons learned from applying the global burden of disease (GBD) methods to the Thai context for other developing country settings. The study highlights unique pattern of disease burden in Thailand whereby epidemiological transition have occurred as non-communicable diseases were on the rise but burden from HIV/AIDS resulting from the epidemic in the 1990s remains high and injuries show negligent change. Lessons point that assessing DALY over time critically requires continuing improvement in data sources particularly on cause of death statistics, institutional capacity and long term commitments.

While anti-trafficking legislation has been improved and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) facilities established in Thailand to provide support to male victims of trafficking, including fishermen, the current framework requires men who have been trafficked to stay in shelters and does not permit them to work. The condition prohibiting work serves as a disincentive for male victims of trafficking to wilfully be identified as such. The objective of this report is to provide a better understanding of the recruitment, living and working conditions of fishermen and the extent of exploitation and abuse in the Thai fishing sector. The report reviews the legislative and regulatory framework governing the fishing sector and the recruitment of fishermen and its implementation, highlighting certain gaps which enable traffickers to operate in the sector and lead to abusive labour conditions. The report also examines protection and support services accessible by victims of trafficking.

This Book of Abstracts contains the abstracts of papers that were selected for presentation at the National Conference of HIV/AIDS Research. It represents the collective endeavor of many researchers, field investigators, scholars and others interested in HIV/AIDS research around the country. Except for the abstracts of invited presentations included in the beginning of the book, all were voluntary submissions for oral or poster sessions.