AIDS cases: Dharwad district of Karnataka tops list

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AIDS cases: Dharwad tops list

From Kalyan Ray, DH News Service, New Delhi:

Indias highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases has been observed in the

Dharwad district of Karnataka, according to the latest national AIDS

statistics, which has estimated the total number of HIV/AIDS patients

at 2.47 million.

The prevalence in Dharwad is more than that in 13 other high risk

districts such as Pune, Chandrapur and Sangli in Maharashtra and

Ukhrul and Churachandpur in Manipur.

While these districts have three per cent prevalence of HIV/AIDS

among the general population, Dharwad's prevalence rate is six per

cent. There are 104 more districts where the prevalence is more than

one per cent. For Karnataka, the prevalence has slightly gone up from

1.2 per cent in 2003 to 1.3 per cent in 2006.

Disclosing the new estimates made by the National AIDS Control

Organisation (NACO), Union Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said

the figure could not be compared with the previous estimate as the

two methodologies were different.

Methodology

According to the last year's estimates, India had 5.206 million

HIV/AIDS patients (people aged between 15-49 years) in 2005. The

UNAIDS later put it at 5.7 million including the paediatric AIDS

cases.

Till date all estimates took data coming from the sentinel sites —

specific clinics that were considered representative of the entire

country — into account. But the new method incorporates statistics

coming out of the third national family health survey (NFHS-III).

For the first time, NFHS, India's largest health survey, had specific

questions on AIDS in its door-to-door survey conducted on 2,30,000

people. Both sentinel site and NFHS data was integrated and a new

internationally validated methodology was used to arrive at the new

estimate.

The number of sentinel sites too has gone up to 1,122 from 702.

Allegations

" There were disturbing allegations on India's HIV/AIDS prevalence in

the past. But the new estimate is robust and reliable, " Dr Ramadoss

said.

The new estimate actually gives a range — from two to 3.1 million

HIV/AIDS patients — which the experts from UNAIDS and WHO feel is

closer to the reality.

Dr Feachem, former head of the Global Fund to fight against

TB, AIDS and malaria had claimed that official Indian estimates are

lower than the actual count and the country is sitting on an HIV/AIDS

bomb.

Incidentally, the Fund is contributing $ 214 million in the third

phase of the national AIDS control programme, which was launched by

the health minister here on Friday.

Among the six high prevalence states, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a big

success where the prevalence has gone down to 0.6 per cent from the

2003 level. In Maharashtra, it has gone up slightly while in Andhra

Pradesh and the north east there is no decline. " The disease burden

is still very high as India has the world's third highest HIV/AIDS

population after South Africa and Nigeria, " said Ms K Sujatha Rao,

NACO director general.

Unlike previous years, this time NACO did not come out with any

figure on new infections in the last one year, as the analysis may

require more time. For the first time a death estimate has been

prepared, which is with the Register General's office.

" The death figure is much lower than that of an estimate of 2,00,000

made by the WHO some time ago. I can't reveal it as it is up to the

Register General, " Dr Prabhat Jha from the University of Toronto and

one of the advisors to NACO, told Deccan Herald.

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