Every fifth gay in B'lore is HIV+

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Every fifth gay in Blore is HIV+

New Delhi, DHNS:

Gay sex is on the rise in Bangalore and so its victims. More than 19

per cent of Bangalorean gay men are now carrying the deadly AIDS-

causing virus.

The Garden City has earned the dubious distinction of being the No 2

among the cities having high incidence of HIV infection among

homosexual men.

Pune is ahead of Bangalore. The rise in gay sex and subsequent HIV

infection took place between 2004 and 2006, according to the 2006 HIV

sentinel surveillance analysis carried out by the National Institute

of Health and Family Welfare in Delhi and National AIDS Control

Organisation (NACO). While in 2004 only 10 per cent gay men in

Bangalore had the virus, the figure rose to 11.6 per cent in 2005 and

jumped to a whopping 19.2 per cent in 2006.

The information has been collected from a sentinel site run by a non-

governmental organisation called Jagruthi.

The trend is similar in Pune where within two years HIV prevalence

among homosexual men almost doubled. On the contrary, metropolitan

cities like Mumbai and Chennai showed a declining trend in the same

period.

Other southern cities where gay sex is spreading HIV/AIDS include

Villuppuram in Tamil Nadu, South Goa, Chennai and Puducherry.

As many as four Kerala cities — Kannur, Kollam, Kasaragod and

Ernakulam — are beginning to see this trend as more than 75 per cent

of gay men attending clinics in these cities were found to be HIV

positive.

The national capital also illustrated the same pattern. In fact,

north-east Delhi displayed the maximum HIV prevalence of 32.8 per

cent among men having sex with men. West Delhi and north-west Delhi

too exhibited similar trends.

The HIV Sentinel Surveillance Survey 2006 is based on data collected

from 1,122 sites, out of which 28 sites were exclusively for the gay.

What is alarming is the fact that in 11 out of the 28 sites, HIV

prevalence was more than five per cent, making it clear that

unprotected gay sex is spreading the disease.

A district-wise analysis in Karnataka showed high HIV prevalence in

people — more than three per cent — among those attending Hassan

district hospital, Belgaum district hospital and general hospital in

Gokak. The State had 54 sentinel sites out of which 32 sites had more

than one per cent prevalence.

However, the State has achieved a big success in Dharwad where 6.25

per cent prevalence in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in

Hubli and 7.25 per cent prevalence seen in the general hospital in

Navalgund were brought down to one and 0.75 per cent respectively.

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