Seventh IUVDT Regional Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 September 1991.

Abstract

In September 1991, the 7th IUVDT Regional Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to exchange information on the importance of controlling STDs and HIV-AIDS in Asia. Speakers from Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan provided the latest HIV-AIDS epidemiological data. In Thailand, heterosexual transmission of HIV is catching up with iv drug use. Most infected women are 15-24 years old. In Malaysia, drug use iv drug use trails heterosexual transmission of HIV. In Japan, hemophiliacs comprise 85% of HIV-positive people. Current problems do not compare to the sizable task Asian countries face in affecting the progression of the HIV-AIDS epidemic. All countries need to implement control measures quickly and at the same time. They should not pretend traditional values and beliefs would shield their people from the epidemic. Asian countries should especially stop promoting themselves as places of sexual adventure. Control programs should also target STDs. Australian presenters discussed the results of the Sydney Sexual Lifestyle Study and a study on the effect of zidovudine therapy on the prognosis of AIDS. Another presentation focused on the possibility of a vaccine for chlamydia infection. Several papers centered on the treatment of chancroid and gonococcal and nongonococcal urethritis and evaluation of a detection test for chlamydia infection. 1 participant reviewed the role of human papilloma virus in cervical carcinogenesis. Another participant demonstrated a link between bacterial vaginosis and adnexal tenderness and pelvic infection. The conference concluded with a presenter challenging everyone to meet the HIV-AIDS challenge. Reasons why current control measures do not work include inadequate facilities to manage STDs, tendency not to consider HIV another STD, failure to promote and lack of condoms, and not educating school children about HIV-AIDS.