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In
1986, the first HIV positive case was
detected in Tamil Nadu. That discovery
moved the Government General Hospital (Chennai)
and Christian Medical College Hospital (Vellore)
to begin recording data on HIV/AIDS.
Though
the seriousness of the infection was not
fully known in the beginning, its magnitude
has now been clearly understood. December
1999 figures have shown that among the 36,72,144
samples of sera that were screened, 92,312
tested positive for HIV. The epidemic today
is a challenge to the present systems and
a safe future depends entirely on the promptness
and effectiveness of the prevention and
control measures.
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By
December 1999, approximately 7,62,426 blood
samples had been screened in Tamil Nadu.
The results revealed 14,750 HIV positive
cases of which 4,354 persons were found
to have developed AIDS. Epidemiologists
say that for every reported case of AIDS,
a hundred go unreported. This makes the
situation really alarming.
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The
total population of Tamil Nadu for the year
2002 was 558.59 lakhs,
of which a total of 22,826 cases of AIDS have
been reported upto October 2002.
The
sentinel surveillance between the period
2001-02 indicates that IVDU cases top the
list with a HIV prevalence of 33.6 percent.
STD cases rank second with a prevalence
of 13.11 percent. MSM recorded a HIV prevalence
of 2.4 percent. Family Health Awareness
Campaign conducted during March 2002 recorded
6,63,330
STI/RTI cases.
Earlier,
it was believed that there were just two
groups whose behaviour were at risk: commercial
sex workers and truck drivers. Today, many
other groups have been identified. They
are migrant labourers, industrial workers,
refugees, fishermen, slum dwellers, hotel
and lodge workers, domestic helpers, street
children and MSMs. In other words, it is
not who a person is, but what a person does
that invites the risk.
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TANSACS
is tackling the problem on various fronts using
different strategies to create awareness among
different sub-population groups. The efforts are
now beginning to show results. Tamil Nadu can
boast of the highest
awareness level in the country - nearly 96 percent.
TANSACS plans to strengthen and support the existing
infrastructure to address the problem right at
the grassroot level. STD clinics are being set
up across all the 29 districts, equipment is being
upgraded, alternative medicine is being used more
confidently and condoms are being distributed
freely. Moreover, apart from intensifying awareness
campaigns, counsellors and medical officers are
being trained to make a difference.
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