RESUMO
PIP: As a major tourist attraction for heterosexuals and homosexuals, Thailand stands to experience major increases in the rate of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This article describes 2 AIDS cases in Thailand, including the 1st documented case. The 1st case involved a 28-year-old unmarried Thai male who travelled to the US in 1981 for postgraduate work and had contact with both female prostitutes and homosexual men. In 1982-83, the patient demonstrated fever, fatigue, meningitis, and finally Pneumocystis carinii. He was hospitalized in 1984 for fever, bilateral deafness, and diarrhea. Serologic analysis revealed antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV- III). Death occurred in January 1985. The 2nd patient was a 52-year- old single man who had moved from West Germany to Thailand 10 years previously to admission in 1985 for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The patient, a homosexual, make frequent visits to Germany and was an alcoholic. The initial clinical diagnosis was ruptured esophageal varices with cirrhosis. The patient further had a history of herpes simplex genitalis. The subsequent course of the disease process included massive blood loss and interstitial pneumonitis. Serology revealed antibodies to HTLV-III. Death occurred in August 1985. Both of these patients belonged to groups at high risk of AIDS and had clinical, serologic, and immunologic indicators that enabled confirmation of the AIDS diagnosis.^ieng
