Indians have a reason to smile; HIV/AIDS one of the most dreaded infection killing many every year is showing a gradual decline
in the Southern Indian states.
The recent statistical research headed by Dr. Rajesh Kumar and his team projects a significant drop in HIV/ AIDS cases in, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The
researchers attribute this success to the growing awareness among the youths.
The team consisting of ten researchers studied a sample of over 2.9 lakh women and 58,000 men attending 132 sexually
transmitted infection (STI) clinics for sexually transmitted diseases.
With 5.1 million HIV/AIDS infected people in the country, India stands next to South Africa, which accounts for the highest number of cases.
The researchers feel that the study shows two indications, firstly, it emphasizes education about how H.I.V. can be transmitted and the use of condoms offer the best hope for reducing the spread of the virus in India.
Secondly, routine monitoring of H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted diseases are powerful and cost-effective ways to control AIDS in India.
In the southern States, the infections are mostly due to heterosexual contact, while infections are mainly found amongst injecting drug users in Manipur and Nagaland.
The North Eastern region of the country is another challenging area yet to be tackled.
Dealing with HIV/AIDS in India is tougher than dealing with any other life threatening disease.
A country, where even discussing about sex is a taboo, it is the stigma associated with the infection that effects the day to day life of a patient rather than his physical problems.
In most cases, the individual diagnosed with the virus and even the whole family is ostracized from the society.
Other then government organisations, a number of Non-Government Organisations doing laudable work towards making people aware by providing community support to people living with AIDS and their families and for providing the required care and counseling.