The Hindu : National : HIV prevalence rate 0.28 p.c., says survey

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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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National

HIV prevalence rate 0.28 p.c., says survey

Aarti Dhar

NACO had claimed it was 0.36 p.c.

NFHS-3 is first community-based
household survey
Awareness still low among some groups

NEW DELHI: The National Family and Health Survey-3 (NFHS)-3 has put the HIV prevalence rate in the country at 0.28 per cent, compared to 0.36 per cent claimed by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) a few months ago.

The prevalence rate among men — 0.36 per cent — is higher than the rate among women — 0.22 per cent.

For both men and women, the prevalence is highest in the 30-34 age-group and the rate is 40 per cent higher in cities than in rural areas.

The district-wise, community-based household survey was carried out by the NFHS-3 for the first time and it is independent of the sentinel surveillance system used by the NACO.

The survey included consented HIV testing on a representative sample of more than 1,00,000 women and men in the age group of 15 to 49.

While the prevalence in men was higher across the country, the only exception was Tamil Nadu, where it was higher among women, probably because the men had died of the disease and the State was effective in containing the disease. The disease there had peaked and was now on a downslide, sources in the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry told The Hindu.

The infection rates vary from 1.13 per cent in Manipur and 0.97 per cent in Andhra Pradesh to only 0.34 per cent in Tamil Nadu. The estimate for Uttar Pradesh, a low prevalence State, is only 0.07 per cent. The prevalence continued to be high in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Nagaland.

The survey has concluded that only 61 per cent of women and 84 per cent of men (15-49 years) had heard of AIDS.

Awareness increased markedly since NFHS-2 in 1998-99 but still remained low among some groups. Men have more information about preventing HIV/AIDS than women. About seven in 10 men know each of the three ABC prevention methods — abstinence, being faithful and condoms — compared to only four in 10 women.

Misconceptions

Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS are also common. Only 38 per cent of women and 61 per cent of men know that a healthy-looking person could be infected.

About two-thirds of women and half of men mistakenly believed that mosquito bites could transmit the virus.

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