Hepatitis B immunization: a potential incentive to HIV vaccine trial participation in Thailand?

Article Abstract:

Offering hepatitis B immunization may enhance people's willingness to participate in follow-up studies that would be crucial to testing HIV vaccines. Researchers offered free hepatitis B immunization to Thais at high risk for HIV infection who did not test positive for current or prior hepatitis B infection. The three-dose schedule for immunization with the hepatitis B vaccine required visits by vaccinees to the study site at 1 and 6 months after the initial dose. Ninety percent of the 305 people who agreed to be immunized finished the full immunization schedule, whereas 61% of 533 people who were not being immunized appeared for a 6-month follow-up visit. The non-immunization group was made up of those who refused immunization and those who tested positive for hepatitis B infection. The immunization incentive had the strongest effect on commercial sex workers, whereas it had no significant effect on recently discharged Thai army conscripts. There was no difference between the immunization and non-immunization groups in 12-month follow-up rates.

Social aspects, Thailand, Clinical trials, AIDS vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccines

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Human immunodeficiency virus infection and self-treatment for sexually transmitted diseases among Northern Thai men

Article Abstract:

Self-treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with antibiotics obtained from pharmacists may lower the risk of acquiring HIV in Thailand. Researchers tested 869 military recruits from northern Thailand for the presence of HIV and STDs. Many of the men were sexually active, with 12.3% positive for HIV and 2.2% positive for syphilis. A majority of the men who had had an STD treated themselves with antibiotics, and this self-treatment correlated with a reduced rate of HIV infection. Pharmacists should be included in public health efforts, considering their potential role in preventing STD and HIV infection.

Sexually transmitted diseases, Usage, Antibiotics, Drug therapy, Self-care, Health, Self care (Health)

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Measuring HIV-1 incidence in Northern Thailand: prospective cohort results and estimates based on early diagnostic tests

Article Abstract:

Using the p24 antigen screening test may be the most effective method of measuring the incidence of HIV-1 in dense, economically-depressed populations where HIV-1 is rapidly spreading. The point prevalence of p24 positivity among HIV antibody-negative subjects was used in determining the spread of HIV among commercial sex workers in Northern Thailand, a region suffering a high rate of HIV transmission. The p24 antigen method estimated that one-fourth of the female sex workers and one-fifth of the male sex workers contracted HIV, an estimate higher than in an earlier prospective study.

Evaluation, Developing countries, HIV testing, HIV tests

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