AIDS cases up, prevalence rate down in Gujarat

• The number of confirmed AIDS cases is on the rise. From 820 in 2003, it went up to 1,040 cases in 2004. In 2005, from January to March, 142 confirmed cases were reported.

• The number of cases are rising in various districts, including Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

• In Ahmedabad, the number of confirmed cases reported in 2003 were 203, which went up to 235 in 2004. It may go higher in 2005 as the data for January to March shows 41 confirmed cases of AIDS.

• The report says the disease has been transmitted through sexual route in most of the cases followed by blood transfusions and infected hospital equipment. This data was collected by GSACS from various government hospitals in the state.

Experts say the figures are not alarming as the prevalence rate of HIV is going down considerably. In 2003, the prevalence rate was 4.48 per cent in high-risk groups and 0.38 in low-risk groups. In 2004, it went down to 3.6 per cent in the high-risk groups and 0.13 in the other group.

The dip, experts say, is due to the increase in awareness among sex workers in the state. ‘‘More than 150 NGOs are working to support AIDS patients and create awareness among sex workers,’’ C P Gupta of GSACS said.

However, that does not mean that education and awareness in rural areas is adequate. The report says about 55 per cent respondents in Gujarat have heard of HIV/AIDS. Of them, 74 per cent were males and 26 per cent were females.

A GSACS member said, ‘‘We are planning to launch a massive campaign in the rural areas to educate people about HIV/AIDS. We are also in the process of promoting 100 per cent use of condoms, that is use of condoms in every encounter.’’