Originally posted by SMRT Buses:
Thursday August 17, 12:17
PM
[b]In school, dicing with
sex and death
Speaking of unprotected sex which he said was rampant among
teenagers "Dr Love" Wei Siang Yu told this newspaper: "They are
rebellious, invincible and think nothing will touch them."
And they are wrong.
Grim numbers released by Dr Balaji Sadasivan yesterday showed that
the cases of sexually-transmitted infections (STI) among
Singaporeans aged between 10 and 19 had increased markedly from
250 in 2002 to 678 last year.
"Many of them are still in school," said Dr Balaji. "It is a
tragedy when a young person, full of life and potential, becomes
limited by a positive diagnosis of HIV."
And while STIs such as gonorrhea, genital herpes and warts
constitute a majority of the cases, even the Aids virus has not
spared teenagers.
By the end of last year, there were more than 40 Singaporeans aged
below 19 who had tested positive for HIV. In the past, most
infected youngsters acquired the virus at birth from their mothers,
but this situation was changing: For example, of the seven new
patients below 19 who tested positive for the virus last year, four
did not get it from their mothers. Instead, unprotected sex
appeared to be the culprit.
"The situation worsens if the infected person unknowingly spreads
HIV to other young people by engaging in casual sex or sex with
multiple partners," said Dr Balaji. The former Senior Minister of
State for Health continues to oversee the HIV/Aids situation here
even though he is now the Senior Minister of State for Information,
Communications and the Arts, and Foreign Affairs.
Some youths acquired infections from older partners, noted Dr
Wei.
He cited the example of a teenage girl who started having smelly
vaginal discharge and involuntary vaginal muscle contractions
during sex.
"This girl was very young, maybe 18 or 19 years old, when she wrote
to me a few months ago," said Dr Wei. "I think her boyfriend was
older, in his 20s or even 30s, and could have been more sexually
active, with a history of having multiple partners."
Concerned that the symptoms were indicative of an STI which could
lead to fertility problems if untreated, Dr Wei advised her to go
for a check-up.
He said that 5 per cent of the teenagers that write to him are
concerned about whether they have picked up an STI.
For some, it is too late.
Speaking at an HIV awareness presentation at Temasek Secondary
School yesterday, Dr Balaji revealed that between 1985 and last
year, more than 470 persons in the 20-29 age group here were
diagnosed with HIV.
"It is very likely that some of these were infected in their
teenage years, as they may not have known that they had an HIV
infection for many years, as there are no symptoms initially," he
said.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will study data on young Aids patients
to see if there is any school was particularly at risk, and inform
the school if so. While the study has not been conducted, Dr Balaji
gave his assurance that schools will only be provided with
statistical data and not the students' identities. He expressed
hope that schools would take a more pro-active approach toward HIV
education.
"That a school is not aware of any of its students having HIV does
not mean that none of its students have HIV, and does not mean that
its students are not at risk," he said.
It is natural for young people to be curious about sex, he
conceded, but they also need to know about the consequences of
pre-marital sex, such as unwanted pregnancies and STIs.
Education is important especially so when the Internet and other
media may provide misleading information, he said, adding that
students need to have accurate information about Aids so that they
can protect themselves.
The MOH's deputy director of communicable disease policy and HIV
prevention, Dr Jeffery Cutter, said an STI/HIV education programme
by the Health Promotion Board's was being fine-tuned and would be
rolled out next year.
The programme was taken up by 112 secondary schools last year, and
reached 43,000 students. Standard Chartered Bank's HIV Be Aware,
Be Safe programme has been picked up by 47 schools, or 20,000
students.
"In addition to the abstinence message, which is always important,
we will also have stronger messages in areas like safer sex, making
choices, lifestyle choices and so on," said Dr Cutter. - /fa
[/b]
..... T o say is easy, but when the hormones are raging wild,
you can't stop them 
