KURNOOL: District AIDS Control Society has launched the "Be Bold" campaign to voluntarily undergo screening test for HIV in Kurnool district.

Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, District Nodal Officer Sayeeda Sadat said the campaign was aimed at motivating public to voluntarily undergo HIV screening tests.

She said also the Society had launched the campaign to take the HIV transmission rate from mother to child to zero by the year 2007. This would be possible if all pregnant women underwent HIV screening test.

Prevention of Prenatal Transmission to Child Testing (PPTCT) centres functioned in the district at Kurnool, Adoni and Nandyal. Also, Voluntary Confidential Counselling Testing Centres (VCCTCs) were set up at seven places in the district.

Medical test centres

In addition, Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres were set up at six places where all kinds of medical tests would be undertaken in order to avoid identifying the centres as HIV centres. The centres would function at Kosigi, Atmakur, Koilkuntla, Gonegandla, Pathikonda and Aluru.

Ms. Sadat said the HIV infection rate was one to 1.5 per cent placing Kurnool district second from the bottom. Out of 9,382 cases screened at PPTCT centres, 22 tested positive.

Some 200 to 400 positive cases were reported for every one lakh population in the district. So far, 5,083 positive cases were detected.

She said the Government was yet to start anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre at Kurnool where the drugs could be distributed free of charge to patients of full-blown AIDS cases.

The centre was likely to be set up here in the second phase.

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