Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Stress on proper counselling to prevent AIDS

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, JULY 31. Proper counselling to those infected with Human Immuno Deficiency Virus will help to prevent the spread of HIV and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, speakers said at a seminar held here recently.

The seminar on `AIDS awareness', organised for media persons by the district administration and the Apollo Hospitals, focussed on the importance of pre-test counselling.

The main cause of worry was the number of persons who tested positive, but were reluctant to turn up for counselling and treatment.

Inaugurating the seminar, the Collector, D. Raajendiran, said the Government initiated various preventive measures through the Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society. It established a Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre at the Madurai Medical College and the Government Hospital, Usilampatti.

The prevalence of AIDS was more in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, and in the State, it was more in Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Madurai, Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts, he said.

Expressing concern over landless farm labourers, who migrated to cities owing to the drought, entering the high-risk group, N. Saraswathi Sarojini, Professor, Sexually Transmitted Diseases Department, Government Rajaji Hospital, said truck drivers were initially vulnerable to the STD. But an increase in awareness reduced the prevalence rate among truck drivers, she added.

The awareness level was low among agricultural labourers and most of the cases reported at the Government Rajaji Hospital were in the advanced stage. The prevalence of syphilis, an STD, came down to 3.14 per cent in 2003 from 6.32 per cent in 2002, she said.

The advancements in production of antibiotics and the Syndromic Approach Treatment had brought down the rate, but the antibiotics were effective only in the cases of bacterial infection. A proper diagnosis and treatment could work wonders in the treatment of viral infections, Dr. Saraswathi explained.

The HIV infection rate was higher in villages than in the city, said the Apollo Hospitals senior physician, O.R. Kumaran.

Rohini Sridhar, Medical Superintendent, Apollo Hospitals, N. Mythili, Department of Microbiology, Madurai Medical College, and T.N. Sekar, General Manager, Apollo Hospitals, spoke.

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