The Hindu – Half of HIV patients in Asia live in India

The prevalence is 18 per cent in South India, says UNAIDS report

New Delhi, 1 December 2011

Aarti Dhar

India houses half of Asia’s HIV patients and is way ahead of China in disease burden. It also finds a place in the list of 22 countries prioritised for preventing mother to child transmission infection, according to the latest UNAIDS report, drafted jointly with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

About 48 lakh people were living with HIV in Asia in 2010 and nearly half of them – 49 per cent to be precise – are in India, says the report released on the eve of World AIDS Day. The percentage of pregnant women who tested positive for HIV infection in India also rose from 2 per cent in 2005 t0 23 per cent in 2010.

Seven Asian countries report an estimated 100,000 or more people living with HIV in 2009, collectively accounting for more than 90 per cent of people with HIV in the region. India tops the list followed by China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, though the highest prevalence rate, one per cent, was observed only in Thailand. In Asia, the rate of HIV transmission appears to be slowing down. The estimated 360,000 people who were newly infected with HIV in Asia in 2010 were considerably fewer than the 450,000 estimated for 2001.

Traditional risk groups

Notwithstanding regional variations, the HIV epidemic is being stabilised among female sex workers and traditional risk groups in the six high-prevalence States including Karnataka. But epidemics among men who have sex with men are growing across the region including India.

High prevalence

High prevalence — between 8 and 32 per cent — has been found among surveyed men who have sex with men in many Asian cities. The UNAIDS report quotes one study, which shows that the prevalence is 18 per cent in South India. The report also says that 35 per cent of children with HIV infection were receiving anti-retroviral therapy treatment.

Variation exists among commercial sex workers, with a 2009 survey showing HIV prevalence of 4.6 per cent among female sex workers in Mumbai and Thane and 24 per cent among street-based sex workers. The prevalence could be as high as 29 per cent among their brothel-based counterparts in some districts of Maharashtra.

Yielding results

There is also evidence that prevention programmes are working in India. One such programme in Karnataka was associated with a drop in HIV prevalence from 25 per cent to 13 per cent among female sex workers in three selected districts between 2004 and 2009.

A similar programme brought down the prevalence from 1.4 per cent to 0.8 per cent among young antenatal clinic attendees between 2004 and 2008 in 18 districts.

And yet another intervention programme in Mumbai and Thane led to a decline from 45 per cent HIV prevalence in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2010 among brothel-based sex workers.

http://www.thehindu.com/health/article2675546.ece

448.The Man in Blue – World AIDS Day & Karam

World AIDS Day

HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus
AIDS – Acquired immune deficiency syndrome

December 1 is World AIDS day. The AIDS is not as lethal as it once was. There is still no cure but expensive medicines have been developed that allow people who develop AIDS to live longer and have a better quality of life.

The HIV virus that leads to AIDS is transferred via blood. Many people got HIV through blood transfusions when medical services were not yet fully aware of this danger. Another way of getting infected is through the sharing of injection needles between drug addicts or in very negligent medical units.

But the HIV virus is mostly acquired through risky sexual behaviour. Unprotected sex outside a stable relationship is risky, and those that indulge in anal sex are most at risk as the chance of bleeding is bigger that way.

I had a friend in Amsterdam who was by most people’s standards a good and decent man. He ran a successful business and was in a stable and loving relationship with another man. I got to know him quite well as his business was just a few doors away from the house of a friend and colleague of mine.

I know that many Sikhs reject homosexuality and homosexuals and I am not going to argue that God approves of homosexuality, I simply do not God’s ‘opinion’ on the matter and our eternal Guru does not say anything about it either.   

What I do know is that my friend was a good man, but that he had indulged in risky sex before entering in a stable relationship, and that he was punished for this by dying in a most horrible way.

I do believe in karam, I believe that deeds done in this life or in previous lives can be carried forward, and that the consequences of these deeds can visit you at a later stage. I also know that the five thieves, lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego are not only spiritually unhealthy but can also lead to bad physical health.

But I want to strongly argue that if a disease is caused by what we think of as useless or sinful behaviour we should still feel compassion and supply loving care.

I heard the shocking story of a high ranking Indian Army officer who on a visit to Delhi had a little ‘adventure’ and who before he was aware that he had HIV passed it on to his loving and faithful wife. As this was before the more advanced methods of treatment were developed they both died a horrible death. And in spite of the husband’s obvious guilt they both equally deserved compassion and loving care.

Imagine that you are dying in a most unpleasant way, being fully aware that your wife is meeting the same fate, and that all this is caused by your own stupidity. That should be punishment enough for anybody to cope with. I try not to be too judgemental, and hope that I can see God’s presence in all who I meet, even in those who caused great suffering to those around them.