Global experts trash Naco's AIDS data

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Global experts trash Naco's AIDS data

CLAIMS GALORE: NACO claims HIV infection in India spreads mainly

through heterosexual route.

New Delhi: Trashing estimates of the National AIDS Control

Organisation that commercial sex workers are the biggest factor for

HIV transmission in the country, the International Journal of STD and

AIDS has said that most of the HIV transmission in India takes place

through blood exposures.

NACO immediately countered the findings, saying that they have enough

evidences to back the fact that " HIV infection in the country spreads

mainly through heterosexual route " .

" We are going to ask them for an explanation. The data doesn't give

correct information on HIV epidemic in the country, " PTI quoted a

senior NACO official as saying.

The study by well-known researchers Gisselquist and Mariette

Correa, challenges the contentions of NACO that HIV is primarily

transmitted through sex in India. Instead, they claim, sex workers

account for only two to 15 per cent of HIV transmissions in India.

" Rather, common lifetime exposures like dental care (31 per cent),

surgery (20 per cent), blood tests (100 per cent) and tattooing (47

per cent) are the main routes of HIV transmission in India, " the

study claims.

As per NACO statistics, 86 per cent of HIV transmission in India

takes place through the sexual route, 2.4 per cent through injection

drug use, two per cent through blood transfusion, 3.6 per cent

through pre-natal transmission and 6 per cent through unspecified

actions.

The researchers claim their findings were based on examination of the

process of AIDS case surveillance in four high HIV-prevalence

districts in southern India.

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