Little help for foreign AIDS patients<\/p>\n
By Yvonne Chang<\/p>\n
TOKYO (Reuters): Prapaporn Yoskorn, a registered nurse from
\nThailand, has become a celebrity among Thai prostitutes working
\nin Japan.<\/p>\n
Prapaporn returned to Thailand recently after seven months in
\nJapan offering advice on AIDS treatment to Thai women in the sex
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"Not many came to me in the beginning, but word about me
\nspread and more and more women began calling me for help about
\nAIDS,\" said Prapaporn, who also speaks fluent Japanese, before
\ndeparting.<\/p>\n
There are no official statistics on how many foreign
\nprostitutes work in Japan, but in a sign their numbers are
\ngrowing, 32 foreign women working in \"bars\" asked police for help
\nin 1997 compared with nine the previous year.<\/p>\n
Apart from telephone consultations, Prapaporn visited
\nhospitals all over Japan to interpret for Thai patients and
\nnegotiated with authorities if a patient wanted to go home.<\/p>\n
She said of her hectic 122 days in Japan: \"It was good that
\nthey at least sought help. When people hide their illness or
\ndon't know they have AIDS, that's when the disease spreads.\"<\/p>\n
Two years have passed since a landmark settlement, in which
\nthe government agreed to pay compensation to hemophiliacs who
\ncontracted HIV through tainted blood products, highlighted the
\nplight of AIDS patients in Japan.<\/p>\n
Japan continues to see an increase in the number of acquired
\nimmune deficiency syndrome patients and carriers of the human
\nimmunodeficiency virus that leads to AIDS, despite other nations
\nstarting to show a decline.<\/p>\n
According to Japan's Health Ministry, the number of new AIDS
\nand HIV-positive patients, excluding the haemophiliacs with the
\ndisease, hit a record high of 647 in 1997.<\/p>\n
Since the ministry started the survey in 1984, it recorded
\n3,985 HIV carriers and 1684 AIDS cases in Japan. The AIDS
\nSurveillance Committee said in its recent report the increases
\nwere found mainly among male Japanese and female foreigners.<\/p>\n
Experts say the most worrisome cases are foreigners without
\nproper visas working in Japanese factories and bars.<\/p>\n
\"They are the ones who need the most help, and those who carry
\nthe greatest risk of spreading the disease, but there is a limit
\nto what we can do,\" said Mika Ishihara, chief coordinator at the
\nAIDS Clinical Center in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
These people refuse to seek treatment until it is too late
\nbecause they fear being turned over to authorities and because
\nthey do not belong to an insurance scheme and cannot afford the
\ncostly AIDS medication.<\/p>\n
\"I can only tell them to lead a healthy life: to eat well,
\nsleep well, avoid alcohol and cigarettes...all things difficult
\nfor women working in bars to do,\" Prapaporn said.<\/p>\n
While correct information on AIDS is instrumental in fighting
\nthe disease, doctors say such patients' knowledge of AIDS is
\nlimited to what they learn by word of mouth.<\/p>\n
Such limited knowledge sometimes forces AIDS victims to hide
\nfrom their friends and loved ones, quit work and can even drive
\nthem to suicide, experts said.<\/p>\n
Foreigners also tend to suffer more from psychological
\ndepression either because they are alone in Japan and have no one
\nto turn to or they belong to a small, close-knit foreign
\ncommunity where they fear their illness would be known to all.<\/p>\n
Prapaporn said she tries to persuade these people to return
\nhome, but many do not have the money to do so or fear being a
\nburden on or a source of shame for their families.<\/p>\n
Also deeply involved in the fight against AIDS in Japan is
\nTeruko Enomoto, who runs a support group for foreign women,
\norganizes fund-raising projects for them and mediates on their
\nbehalf with medical institutions and the authorities.<\/p>\n
Enomoto said she was frustrated because hospitals and the
\nauthorities were not taking advantage of support groups like hers
\nto help foreigners with AIDS.<\/p>\n
She also criticized the lack of information for the public on
\nAIDS treatment in contrast to the flood of information and
\ndiscussion on AIDS prevention.<\/p>\n
\"But the biggest dilemma is that we can only provide temporary
\nrelief and not offer fundamental solutions to their problems,\"
\nsaid Enomoto.<\/p>",
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