This month, Sue Lee of World Courier takes us to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Land of the Free and the only country in South-east Asia that was never colonised by Europeans. Here, infectious diseases represent a significant public health issue, including HIV and AIDS, hepatitis, malaria, Japanese encephalitis and Weil’s disease. Around 1650 clinical trials have been conducted, with more than 200 AIDS studies and nearly 450 on communicable diseases.