Nine out of 10 of the new Aids sufferers are men and a third of them are gay. There are more than 2,000 Aids patients in Singapore now.

Dr Balaji said an epidemiologist - an expert in the spread and control of diseases - had suggested to him that the spike might be linked to the Nation parties held every August on Sentosa.

The Nation parties, which attract a predominantly homosexual crowd, could have allowed 'gays from high-prevalence societies to fraternise with local gay men, seeding the infection in the local community', he said.

He added 'However, this is a hypothesis and more research needs to be done.'

Started in 2001, the annual Nation parties - held on National Day - have drawn as many as 8,000 people from the region.

Dr Balaji's statement drew immediate fire from the party organiser, Fridae.com. Its chief executive officer Stuart Koe called it 'irresponsible'.

Instead of making 'sweeping statements' that misinform the public, the Government should focus on education, he said. 'The Government has never targeted any of its Aids campaigns at gay men. Is it any wonder that there is a rise in the number of Aids cases in the gay community?'

Last year, police turned down an application to hold a similar Christmas party, deeming it contrary to public interest.

Yesterday, Dr Balaji said the Health Ministry was most concerned about the rising number of Aids patients. For every such case diagnosed, there may two to four undiagnosed sufferers - making for a possible total of 8,000 Aids patients here.

The ministry is looking into over-the-counter test kits that allow people to test themselves with their saliva.

Similar self-tests are used elsewhere, such as in America and Europe, but have also drawn criticism worldwide.

Action For Aids' executive director Benedict Jacob-Thambiah said 'What if someone tests positive? How are you going to change his behaviour without counselling?'

He also believed such test kits might encourage risky behaviour as people become lax again if they find the results negative.

But Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC) disagreed. Sufferers still needed to go to clinics to confirm the results, where counselling could done, she said.

Apart from self-test kits, the Health Ministry is also considering laws in the battle against Aids, such as ensuring spouses are told if their partners have the disease.

There is a need, Dr Balaji said, to 'de-stigmatise testing' and at the same time prevent discrimination against Aids patients.

* * * * *

10 March 2005
'Today' newspaper

To make HIV testing simpler, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is studying the introduction of over-the-counter test kits, Health Senior Minister of State Dr Balaji Sadasivan told Parliament yesterday.

"These test kits are easy to use because they test the saliva," he said.

"This will allow those at risk to test themselves. If those with HIV are diagnosed early, they could receive treatment early and hence minimise the development of complications."

The move comes in the light of 311 new HIV cases reported last year, a 28-per-cent increase over 2003. And even those worrying numbers, according to Dr Balaji, are just the "tip of the iceberg".

There are now more than 2,000 HIV/Aids patients in Singapore but the MOH estimates that for every Aids patient identified, there are possibly two to four undiagnosed.

Meanwhile, Dr Balaji revealed that of last year's newly-diagnosed patients, 90 per cent were males with one-third being gays.

He said that the MOH was not aware of the reasons for the sharp increase of HIV in the gay community but an epidemiologist had suggested that it may be linked to an annual, predominantly gay party in Sentosa which allowed gays from high prevalence countries to "fraternise with local gay men, seeding infection in the local community."

He noted, however, that this was a hypothesis and more research needed to be done.

The MOH is also concerned about heterosexual men who have casual sex with other partners, as this puts the wives at risk. Ten per cent of Singaporean Aids patients are women, he said.

Last month, Dr Balaji said that the Health Ministry would seek legislation after public consultation to have doctors inform husbands and wives of their spouse's HIV condition.While legislation now allows doctors to inform someone if his or her spouse suffers from HIV, the law does not say what kind of protection doctors will receive with this possible breach of confidentiality.

"There is a need to balance the right to confidentiality of the Aids patient with the right to protect those at risk," he said yesterday.

"We need to de-stigmatise testing and at the same time we must prevent discrimination against HIV patients. Those who test positive for HIV should lead normal lives in society."

The MOH has already made HIV testing for pregnant women an opt-out option.

As a result of the screening, MOH has saved at least one child from getting infected in the last two months, said Dr Balaji. The Ministry is studying proposals to make this pre-natal test compulsory.