The April 23 issue of Science
magazine features a series of articles on India's AIDS epidemic, the
second part of an occasional series of articles on HIV/AIDS in Asia
leading up to the XV
International AIDS Conference to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in
July. Brief summaries of the articles appear below:
- "HIV/AIDS:
India's Many Epidemics": India's more than one billion people "speak
different languages, practice different religions and customs -- and
face different AIDS epidemics," Science reports. An
estimated 3.8 million to 4.6 million HIV-positive people live in the
country, and 85% of the cases are attributable to heterosexual
transmission. Although the HIV/AIDS epidemics differ in different parts
of the country, "similar forces across the country aid and abet the
spread of HIV, including strong taboos about discussing sex, the
limited power that many women have and widespread discrimination
against the infected," according to Science. Although "a
wave of international aid has started to pour in," many experts fear
that the virus could spread out of control if efforts to fight the
disease are not scaled up, Science reports (Cohen, Science,
4/23).
- "Sonagachi
Sex Workers Stymie HIV": The article discusses India's Sonagachi
Project, which operates a health clinic and hires sex workers to
provide peer education on HIV/AIDS prevention. Many experts believe the
program is a model for other areas of India, as well as other countries
(Cohen, Science, 4/23).
- "The
National AIDS Research Institute's Long Reach": NARI, which is one of
the world's only national research institutes dedicated to HIV/AIDS,
has a widespread effect in Pune, India, where its headquarters are
located. The institute conducts clinical trials examining HIV-related
tests and medicines and basic science research into the virus itself.
However, "NARI has one obvious shortcoming: its tentacles rarely
stretch beyond Pune," Science reports (Cohen, Science,
4/23).
- "The
Needle and the Damage Done": Although HIV transmission via shared
needles accounts for fewer than 3% of India's HIV cases, the prevalence
of the virus among injection drug users in India's Manipur state was
almost 40% in 2003, according to Science. Without much
government support, local AIDS clinicians and nongovernmental
organizations operate harm reduction programs that distribute clean
needles and condoms, provide health care, run detoxification programs
and endorse the view that drug use is a disease and not a crime, Science
reports (Cohen, Science, 4/23).
- "Till
Death Do Us Part": HIV-positive women, who account for about one-fourth
of HIV-positive people in India and many of whom had arranged
marriages, often are rejected by their in-laws, Science
reports. One AIDS physician believes that an inquiry regarding a
potential groom's HIV status should become commonplace in Indian
tradition, and she has introduced HIV-positive men and women to each
other, some of whom have married (Cohen, Science, 4/23).
The first part of the series on HIV/AIDS was published in the Sept. 19
issue of Science. Reporting for the series was supported
in part by a fellowship to Science correspondent Jon
Cohen from the Kaiser
Family Foundation.
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