5.21 million adults with HIV in the country. NACO

[Guest guest]

[Moderators note:...and how many children with HIV in the country?]

5.21 million adults with HIV in the country

New Delhi, Apr 23: About 5.21 million adults are estimated to be

living with HIV infection in the country as per the latest official

estimates with government announcing an improved strategy to collect

data on the disease in the country by next year.

" According to the estimates in 2005, 5.206 million adult people are

HIV infected, " Director General of the National Aids Control

Organisation (NACO) K Sujatha Rao told reporters here.

The adult prevalence is still less than one per cent at 0.91 per

cent in the country, she said.

However, she cautioned that the figures were just an estimation and

the government still did not know how many people were dying of HIV.

Besides, 90 per cent of the infected people did not know that they

carried the infection. In 2004, 5.13 million people were estimated

to be infected by the virus, Rao said.

A study to get estimates on mortality due to HIV was on under the

Indian Council of Medical Research and results were expected in two

months, she said.

Rao said that with an aim of getting better estimates on HIV/AIDS,

the government would create 400 new sites for annual sentinel

surveillance on HIV by next year.

The total number of sites would become 1150 with an additional

expenditure of Rs four crores. The new sites would be created in

states such as UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Besides, the national family health survey was also being carried

out with 134,000 sample size, she said adding this was a community-

based study which would also help in getting estimates on HIV.

Rao said UP would have 76 of the new sites.

She said next five years were crucial for the country for

controlling the disease. " We are currently at where South Africa was

in 1990's. But that country did not bother much about preventive

efforts with 30 per cent of its population now being infected. "

Prevalence of HIV among ante-natal clinic attendees fell below one

per cent in Tamil Nadu. However, HIV prevalence among std (sexually

transmitted disease) patients has increased significantly over the

previous year in Delhi, Rajasthan and Orissa.

Besides, HIV prevalence was greater than one per cent among

antenatal mothers in 95 districts including nine in the low

prevalence states, according to the latest data.

HIV prevalence was greater than ten per cent in 34 STD sites across

the country, Rao said adding prevalence in Nagaland and Manipur

showed an increase indicating an IDU (intravenous drug user) and

heterosexual interface.

Out of the estimated adults living with HIV, over 38 per cent were

females and 57 per CET were of rural background.

The annual sentinel surveillance was conducted in 706 sites covering

antenatal clinic attendees, STD clinic attendees, female sex

workers, injecting drug users, men having sex with men, TB patients

and migrants.

A total of 225,292 individuals were screened and 6475 were found to

be HIV positive.

Dr R Paranjape from the National Aids Research Institute said that

results of the phase I clinical trials of India's aids vaccine were

expected in 2007. The vaccine was found to be safe but analysis on

its capacity to elicit immune response was not yet made.

Bureau Report

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=290365 & sid=NAT