Interview with Dr. K Damayanthi Director AP SACS

[Guest guest]

K Damayanthi, Director of AP State AIDS Control Society on

initiating the new centres in the state.

What are the new initiatives of the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS

Control Society?

We are planning to start 60 centres in another 15 days in the State

and by the end of April this year, we will have 497 centres that

will help check the mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

The state has five million HIV positive people. Four per cent of the

35,000 HIV-positive children screened in the testing centres in the

state had got the virus from their mothers.

The lifespan of a child infected with HIV is lower than an adult

infected with the same. The disease can be checked by administering

medicines to mothers during pregnancy.

Do you think the stigma attached with AIDS has lessened in the

society?

Definitely, the stigma has come down but hasn't been wiped out.

Various programmes conduct ed by Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control

Society (APSACS) to include the affected in the society have helped

in reducing the stigma. AP is still next to Tamil Nadu in initiating

quality programmes against AIDS.

It's because Tamil Nadu initiated spreading awareness against AIDS

more than a decade ago, but we initiated it only over the last five

years. But soon we will be catching up with them.

What strategies can check the transmission of HIV?

HIV infection is predominantly transmitted through sexual contact.

It is transmitted from parent to child through inheritance, blood,

shared needles or syringes.

Mandatory screening of blood for HIV infection has reduced the risk

of transmission of HIV infection through blood transfusions.

Involvement of both men and women is critical in prevention and

control of HIV.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1448224,curpg-

2.cms