Measures are urgently needed to protect pregnant women because of its implication on Thailand's reproduction rate, said Deputy Public Health Minister Dr. Morakot Kornkasem, adding that 1,440 couples could be infected with the deadly virus annually.
The infection rate among pregnant women increased from 0.06 per cent in 2005 to 0.09 per cent or 720 cases in 2006.
The survey made early this year found that AIDS infection was decreasing among soldiers and female sex workers but increasing slightly among pregnant women, the Bangkok Post reported.
Morakot said nearly 14,000 new adult AIDS patients are projected this year, with 36 percent of them female teenagers and housewives, and 24 percent homosexual men and women.
A 100 percent condom use is being encouraged among the 15-49 age reproductive group during World Aids Day on Dec. 1, he said.
To encourage teens to use condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancy and AIDS infection, the health ministry on Thursday unveiled condoms in a jeans package, hoping the trendy bag would suit the taste of the teenage market, the Thai News Agency said.
