Health conference focuses on AIDS, dengue fever

Jeddh Health Affairs Director Dr. Sami Badawood launched the annual three-day conference on infectious diseases at the Park Hyatt Hotel.
The conference, organized by Saudi Society for Medical Microbiology and Infection Diseases, attracted a large number of doctors, including microbiologists and infectious disease experts from around the Kingdom.
The event will hold 15 workshops.
Speakers from Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Madinah and Makkah will exchange their views regarding diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.
The conference aims to spread information about AIDS, tuberculosis and dengue fever. Ways to combat AIDS, rights of AIDS patients, and how society should deal with those effected by the deadly disease will also be focused.
The conference will also discuss the latest methods to prevent hospital infections.
Dr. Ghassan Yusuf, professor at King Saud University, said the conference will discuss the latest medical developments regarding AIDS and other infectious diseases.
Yusuf is managing one of the workshop on HIV. He said the number of AIDS patients in the Kingdom, numbering about 15,000, is not increasing.
He said that the main cause of infection is sexual contact.
According to Yusuf, cases regarding pregnant mothers transmitting the disease to their fetuses are quite rare.
“AIDS patients can live long if they undergo proper treatment,” he said.
Infectious diseases consultant, Dr. Batul Ali, said AIDS patients have to be given their rights and the negative perception toward them must be changed.