Southern India sees drop in HIV
Good news is tempered by continued global rise.
The number of people with HIV seems to be dipping in southern India, adding to the evidence that prevention efforts are biting into the epidemic in some parts of the globe.
Read the story here.
Comments
Although it appears contradictory to the worldwide trends but I wish it to be true! If this is a begining then we have to sustain it...
Posted by: Sandeep Dogra | April 2, 2006 07:06 PM
STRUGGLE TO CONTROL INDIA'S AIDS EPIDEMIC.
Shailendra K. Saxena, Niraj Mishra, Ajai K. Pathak & Maneesh Singh
Infectious Diseases Group, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India.
The estimate of infected people overall may be correct, but it is skeptical as the numbers are contradictory to the world trend of HIV/AIDS and using them, as a reason for complacency is wrong and risky. We should not forget that epidemics affecting around one per cent of the population are often at a point where they can jump from vulnerable groups to the general population.
We are seeing more and more cases around us, and few times even these patients don’t want to go to the hospital because of social stigma and discrimination in the society. In one of our study we have found that genetic makeup makes south Indians more susceptible towards HIV/AIDS.
There are no studies to show exceptionally high levels of awareness or drastic changes in behavior to explain such a drop. As far as I understand, public awareness alone cannot make that great impact. Even if it is true, we should look back into our method of tracking new infections, to be sure.
Posted by: Shailendra K. Saxena, Niraj Mishra, Ajai K. Pathak & Maneesh Singh | April 6, 2006 04:21 PM