BANGKOK (AP) - International opposition to Burma's military Junta is contributing

to the spread of AIDS there, a medical researcher said July 30.

Economic sanctions against Burma are depriving the government of foreign exchange

needed to buy basic medical equipment to fight the disease, said Dr. Daniel Tarantola,

Director of a Harvard School of Public Health International AIDS Program.

He said, the worsening economy is forcing many young women into prostitution, a major

source of the disease's spread. He said that as many as 400,000 Burmese may already

be infected with the virus and within two years, there may be more people infected

with the virus in Burma than in the United States.