Sick and tired: HIV surge in Phuket sparks shame and scandal
Shocking figures reveal a surge in HIV and STD cases in Phuket, while a Thai student falsely accused of spreading the virus fights to clear her name after being dragged through the digital gutter.
Public health officials have raised the alarm after Phuket reported 244 new HIV or sexually transmitted infections, pushing the province’s total number of registered patients to 6,622.
Krittaya Charoensuk, a public health specialist, revealed the latest figures for Q2 of 2015, noting that 5,699 patients are currently receiving continuous treatment, representing just 86% of the health ministry’s target.
Mueang Phuket District was singled out as the province’s worst hotspot for sexually transmitted diseases, reported KhaoSod.
Even more worrying, a damning survey found a toxic culture of fear and stigma within local health facilities:
-
65.7% of healthcare staff admitted being afraid of catching HIV from patients.
-
Half said they held negative attitudes toward children of HIV-positive people.
-
-
One in five witnessed discrimination in the past year.
-
One in four were unwilling to treat high-risk groups.
Meanwhile, in a separate scandal earlier this month, a Thai university student falsely accused of spreading HIV has come out swinging, armed with a negative blood test and a heartbreaking story of humiliation.
“I was ashamed, embarrassed, my dignity as a human was trampled,” said Dear, a 20 year old second-year accounting student at Mahasarakham University.
Her ordeal began when a harmless TikTok clip of her promoting her uni was hijacked and edited into a viral hoax, wrongly claiming she was HIV-positive and had infected several men.
Despite being entirely untrue, the post racked up 600,000 views and 60,000 shares, with online trolls heaping abuse on her and even issuing threats.
“I don’t even know who posted it. I asked them to take it down. They just mocked me and blocked me.”
Now, Dear is demanding justice and hoping her real story drowns out the cruel fiction.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News: