The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : `Need to check sexually transmitted infections'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

`Need to check sexually transmitted infections'

Special Correspondent

Study of two high-risk groups The study showed the need to track emerging misconceptions and counter them through multiple channels of communication.

CHENNAI: With the recently concluded AIDS Prevention and Control (APAC) study pegging the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in the State at 10.6 per cent, epidemiologists have stressed the need for increased intervention to prevent transmission.

While laboratory tests proved that 10.6 per cent of the participants have one form or the other of STIs such as syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis-B and HIV, about 47 per cent reported genital symptoms.

While the prevalence of trichomoniasis, a vaginal infection, was highest at 5.5 per cent, the prevalence of hepatitis-B was 2.8 per cent and HIV 0.7 per cent. The rate was similar in rural and urban areas.

Among men, it was 9.2 per cent and 11.5 per cent among women. Asymptomatic infections were high among both sexes, according to P. Krishnamurthy, project director, APAC.

Curable diseases

A higher percentage of persons had non-viral STIs, which are curable. This indicated the need for treatment.

Separate studies carried out on two high-risk groups — women engaged in prostitution and truckers and helpers — showed that the STI prevalence in the first group was 56 per cent and 15 per cent in the latter group.

The study was conducted among a representative sample of individuals in the age group of 15-49. The members of the two high-risk groups were from 10 areas where the APAC runs intervention programmes.

The research will help programme implementers understand high-risk sexual behaviour, assess STI health facilities and access to condoms, Dr. Krishnamurthy said.

This study was a follow-up to the one conducted in 1998 by the APAC

Behavioural surveillance

The APAC also commissioned a behavioural surveillance survey to study trends in the sexual behaviour of high-risk populations. A baseline BSS was conducted in 1996.

Presenting the findings at a seminar held here on Thursday, Praneeta Varma, Programme Manager, Research, said knowledge of two acceptable ways to prevent STI/HIV was above 90 per cent across groups, including women engaged in prostitution, truckers, helpers, male and female factory workers, youth in slums, homosexuals, eunuchs, injecting drug users, male and female migrant workers.

Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 7,400 respondents, she said.

Dr.Varma said there were signs of improvement in bringing down misconceptions of modes of transmission.

Use of condoms

Condom use among female sex workers increased from 56 per cent in 1996 to 85.9 per cent in 2004. Involvement in non-regular sex declined to 33.7 per cent among truckers and helpers, she said.

The study showed the need to track emerging misconceptions and counter them through multiple channels of communication.

Though condom use with paid partners improved, it remained a challenge with casual partners, Dr. Varma said.

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