Report sexcapades: Army (.......and get ARV?)

[Guest guest]

[Moderators note: DGAFMS is proposing an interesting post exposure

prophylaxis (PEP) policy. Is it for real?, to offer ARV for all those

who had unprotected sex in the army?. It appears that, this is a misleading

interpretation of PEP policy, with serious consequences.

" ... If a person having unprotected sex is put on ARV drugs within

24 hours of getting infected, the virus can be killed, " . DGAFMS. ]

_____________________

Report sexcapades: Army

Siddhartha D Kashyap, [24 Nov,2006 0030hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK]

PUNE: Armymen — particularly those posted in counter-insurgency

operations — will now have to report their visit to sex workers, to

their seniors as part of the Army's anti-HIV drive. This diktat seeks

to impress upon soldiers that " hiding HIV is a crime; and help us

help you before it is too late " . Earlier, this was not mandatory.

Director-general of the Armed Forces Medical Services Surgeon Vice

Admiral V K Singh, who has been pushing hard for a pre-recruitment

HIV screening in the armed forces, said under the pilot programme

initiated in 2005, Army personnel reporting their visits to sex

workers were not penalised. " In fact, they are given proper

counselling, " he said, adding that those not reporting their visits

now, and testing positive later, will be dealt with strictly.

The pilot programme yielded positive results as only 33 personnel

were detected with HIV infection. " There hasn't been a single AIDS

case, " Singh said. " Unprotected sex is one of the major causes of HIV

infection, " he added, explaining that those indulging in sex with

prostitutes are immediately put on an anti-retroviral therapy (ARV)

regime.

" We've asked our personnel to report the matter so that they can be

immediately put on anti-retrovirals, to minimise the risk of

transmission... If a person having unprotected sex is put on ARV

drugs within 24 hours of getting infected, the virus can be killed, "

the DGAFMS said, adding that even those who report the matter late

can be saved from becoming AIDS patients, if administered ARVs.

Senior military officials said it was impossible to prevent some of

the Army personnel from visiting sex workers, particularly in areas

like the northeast or Jammu and Kashmir, where troops are under high

stress, constantly engaged in low-intensity or counter-insurgency

conflicts and alienated from their families for long.

On the proposal for mandatory HIV testing for all recruits, Singh

said, it had been approved by the chiefs of staff committee and

National Aids Control Organisation. " We are awaiting a final go-ahead

from the defence ministry, " he said, adding that the rate of HIV

infection among the armed forces was 0.028%, which is higher than

among civilians.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Report_sexcapades_Army/articleshow/

548219.cms