UP, Bihar are problem states: UNAIDS report


TOUFIQ RASHID

Posted online: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 0145
hours IST


NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21: Densely populated Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar have evoked global concern as far as
AIDS is concerned. In its report on Global AIDS
Epidemic update released in India, UNAIDS today
expressed fears of even a ‘‘relatively minor
increase’’ in HIV transmission having a cascading
effect in these states.

Though NACO said prevalence of the disease in the two
states is still very low, UNAIDS has expressed concern
as the states are ‘‘poor and densely populated’’. The
report said Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Maharashtra, where more than one per cent population
was infected, have showed some stabilisation in
results.
The issue is important as out of the 40.3 million
people infected with HIV-AIDS, 5.13 million are in
India. UNAIDS concern doubles, as one quarter of
India’s entire population lives in these two states.
However, the data showing these two states as having
very low prevalence as compared to the national
average is being seen with distrust.
UNAIDS executive director Dr Peter Piot, who was in
India for the launch of the report said that the two
states need to be studied extensively in the context
of migrant population and poor infrastructure. ‘‘How
is that the migrant labourer who lives in a high
prevalence place like Mumbai doesn’t infect his wife
when he goes back home? This needs to be studied
further,’’ said Dr Piot.

While government officials claimed that the data
collection is as good as in any other state, UNAIDS
regional office in Delhi disagreed.
‘‘Current surveillance is not up to the mark in these
states. There are very few sentinel sites from where
data is collected,’’ said Dr Denis Brown, Country
Representative UNAIDS, India.

The data is collected from sentinel sites which are
ante-natal and STD clinics and drug de-addiction
centres. UP has 17 sentinel sites at ante-natal
clinics, while Bihar has eight ANCs.
‘‘In each of the sentinel sites the data is collected
from ante-natal clinics from pregnant women but we
know that in these states nearly 80 per cent of
deliveries occur at home. So the data is collected
from few privileged women and has definitely a class
bias,’’ said Dr Brown. ‘‘The accuracy can be trusted
in southern states were nearly 80 per cent deliveries
are institutionalised.”



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