AIDS stigma proves deadlier than the disease

He was immediately discharged `for proper rest’, till the end came. Shocked by the incident, Gedam lost the will to live. His family even stopped his medication. As his condition worsened, an NGO from Nagpur got him readmitted to the GMC, but he died the same night.

In another case here, Rashmi Tale has been widowed at 22. Her husband, suffering from TB, was discharged from a local private hospital when his blood test revealed he was HIV positive. With his family stopping his supply of medicines, he died soon thereafter.

Prabhat Sarang,who hailed from from Nagpur but worked in Surat, developed TB but his blood test showed he was HIV positive. His wife was promptly sent to her parents, who later refused to allow her to come near her husband, treat or feed him. Sarang died in the absence of care.

There are also cases though, where timely advice has saved the lives of those declared HIV positive. A young person from Bhandara, discharged from a city hospital with the `no hope sign’ attached to him, has survived the trauma after counselling by a local NGO.

The NGO’s office-bearers alleged that HIV positive people are being rejected at government hospitals despite the State Government’s notification dated May 25 that such patients have to be provided with treatment. Patients suffering from TB or malaria too, if found to be HIV positive, are being discharged from hospitals for fear of their infecting others.

As more cases are coming to light, leading scientists, microbiologists, medical researchers here are pleading for a debate to clearmisgivings on the issue.

Names have been changed to protect identities