PLAY SAFE, BLOCK AIDS

PLAY SAFE, BLOCK AIDS
State AIDS Control Society Figures Show Unprotected Sex Is The Main Reason For The Spread Of HIV Infection In Goa
Preetu Nair | TNN


The number of persons contracting HIV in Goa has doubled over the last 10 years.
The killer virus infects three new persons — two men and a woman — every day.
The age at which Goans are falling prey to the disease is, simultaneously, both decreasing and increasing; the middle-aged (people in their 30s and their 40s) still account for most of the new cases but the number of youths (in the 15-29 age group) and the elderly (49-plus years) who are contracting the virus is growing alarmingly.
And unprotected sex continues to be the biggest scourge, accounting for a whopping majority of the new cases.
The Goa State AIDS Control Society's latest figures do not make for happy reading. The only silver lining in the largely gloomy statistics is provided by the fact that, over the last two years, not a single person has contracted the virus because of drug abuse; infected syringes and needles cannot be blamed for even one of the 2000-odd new HIV cases that has occurred in Goa.
But there is cause for alarm in the coastal districts. The four coastal talukas of Bardez, Tiswadi, Mormugao and Salcete — just like sex without protection in the table of reasons (see graphic) — account for about four of every five new cases that strike Goa.
The situation on the ground corroborates the scary government statistics. Joseph has lived all his life in one of these coastal talukas and has grown up on a heady mix of sex and drugs. Life seemed happening till one day last year when the 30-year-old came to know that he had contracted the dreaded virus.
There are many more like Joseph, across all age groups, leading several NGOs to call HIV a "lifestyle disease". These NGOs, which work with HIV-positive persons in the coastal areas, say an awareness of HIV is already there but people do not seem to have a proper perception of the risk factors. "There is a lot of sexual activity in the coastal areas which, when combined with with the easy availability of alcohol and drugs, may lead to socially irresponsible behaviour," Sofia,
from the NGO Rishta working in North Goa, said.
But several NGOs do not accept the GSACS finding of drug abuse not being responsible for the spread of HIV at all. Sufficient samples may not have been referred to the sentinel surveillance process and that may explain why data of prevalence of HIV among intravenous drug-users is not available.
But the GSACS is sticking to its s t a - t i s -
PRICE OF PROMISCUITY
Goa has a population of 1.4 million permanent residents. HIV prevalence at ante-natal clinics was found to be .5 per cent in 2006. Prevalence of HIV at clinics for sexually transmitted diseases was found to be as high as 8.6% in 2006. Both figures indicate that Goa has a serious epidemic of HIV among sexually active people, say experts working with the problem. (Source: AVERT, international HIV and AIDS charity based in the UK)

2008 May 24 Times Of India Goa