Goa: HIV infections in Coastal areas go un reported

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Goa: HIV infections in Coastal areas go un reported

HIV contractions on coast go unrecorded: Narvekar

NT Staff Reporter

Panaji, Aug 10: The Health Minister, Mr Dayanand Narvekar today said

that the 12,000 odd cases of HIV/ AIDS which were said to have been

detected in the state since 1987, as per the statistics provided by

the Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS), may just be a part of

the actual existing figure.

Mr Narvekar, addressing the day-long state level media sensitisation

workshop on reporting of HIV/ AIDS issues, organised under the aegis

of Community Resource Foundation (CRF), said that the HIV

contractions in the coastal areas vis-a-vis tourist population go

unrecorded, thus reducing the actual number of HIV/ AIDS cases in

the state.

He said that some of the local girls and boys who work in the

coastal belt during 6-month period of peak tourist season, later

shift to the hinterland, and if some of them have contracted the

deadly disease during the period, it goes unnoticed.

Supporting formulations like setting up of a media cell in the

Directorate of Health Services (DHS) to sensitize the media for

further spreading public awareness about HIV/ AIDS, Mr Narvekar

informed that the disease in recent times has escalated to alarming

proportions in India, which has surpassed even South Africa in terms

of AIDS deaths.

Lamenting about the inadequate number of PCR machines used for

carrying out HIV test during the window period of the disease, in

the state, he said that such machines - each machine costing around

Rs 60 lakh - would soon be purchased. The Health Minister noted that

one such machine with the DHS had become non-functional due to

faulty software.

The new machines would be supplied to the Goa Medical College as

well as the district hospitals and no fees would be charged for

testing, he announced.

The Health Minister said that the proposed legislation for mandatory

HIV testing for the bride and groom, before their marriage has

received mixed reactions from the people. " Some have supported it,

others have suggested that it should be made voluntary, while few

others want to restrict the exercise to counseling, " he said,

pointing out that the Act would have a proviso wherein the

consenting partners can agree to forgo the test thus diluting the

mandatory aspect of the law.

The DHS director, Dr Arvind Salelkar, contradicting the HIV/ AIDS

figures of the GSACS said that till date altogether 8,908 cases of

HIV/ AIDS have been detected in the state from various samples

examined.

" Initially, during the late nineties, the state witnessed two to

three HIV/ AIDS cases per year, however for the past seven to eight

years, the number of such cases detected have grown tremendously, "

he added.

Dr Salelkar also said that the year 2003-2004 saw the detection of

around 900 to 1,000 HIV/ AIDS cases in the state, which directly

means around three cases detected per day.

Providing more statistics, Dr Salelkar said that the sentinel

surveillance carried out for finding the prevalence rate of HIV

among STD patients gives the figure of 10 to 15 per cent, while in

the antenatal mothers, it is around 1.38 per cent.

The project director of GSACS, Dr Prakash Kanekar and the editor of

Sunaprant, Mr Sandesh Prabhudesai also spoke. The workshop director,

Dr Anita Dudhane introduced the faculties, while the CRF director,

Dr Ajay Pednekar welcomed.

The workshop, attended by experts including the director of s

Hopkins University, USA, Dr Sonalinie Mirchandane and Dr Jagdish

Kakodkar stressed on the need to give positive media coverage to the

HIV/ AIDS scenario.

http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=081111

______________________

In Solidarity

Jaffer Inamdar

President, Positive Lives Foundation " PLF "

H.No. 133/A, B/H. E-Masjid,

Near Gururdwara Rd, Mangoor Hill,

Vasco Da Gama,Goa, 403802

Email : plf@... / poslivesfoundation@...

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