Thais blamed for AIDS in Indonesia

Thais blamed for AIDS in Indonesia

BANGKOK (DPA): Many Indonesians believe Thai fishermen are a major source of infection with the deadly virus that causes the lethal disease AIDS, particularly on the eastern island of Irian Jaya, reports said yesterday.

The Irian Jaya port city of Merauke has Indonesia's second highest number of people suffering from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS and locals believe

Thai fishermen are the main reason, the Bangkok Post reported.

Four of the first six cases of HIV reported in 1992 in Merauke were Thai fishermen. The number of people with HIV or AIDS climbed to 66 in June 1995; 55 were Thai.

The rate of HIV infection among Thai fishermen is about 5 percent to 10 per cent, a rate much higher than that in the local population, AIDS expert Ruj Komonbut, who has studied the spread of the disease in Merauke, told the Post.