Singapore: Surge in AIDS Linked to Gay Parties

According to a report in the Straits Times, experts believe a sharp rise in AIDS cases can be linked to yearly gay parties on Sentosa Island, just south of the main island of Singapore.

Calling it an 'epidemic', the Senior Minister of State for Health told Parliament that the number of new cases of Aids infection rose 28 per cent last year, from 242 to 311.

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.

The Nation Parties, held annually since 2001, have attracted up to 8,000 predominantly homosexual men. The Nation Party organizer's leader, Stuart Koe, criticized as 'irresponsible' any linkage between AIDS and gay parties. Koe also criticized the government for not targeting gay men in AIDS advertising campaigns.

Since Singapore is a small and very disciplined country where just about every aspect of life is regulated, it's fairly certain that the government will institute corrective measures for the surge in AIDS cases. Just what will be done remains to be seen.