Implications Of The New HIV Estimate For India

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Implications Of The New HIV Estimate For India

ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2007) — The 2007 UNAIDS/WHO AIDS epidemic

update recently released has revised the global estimate of HIV/AIDS

primarily due to a major reduction of the estimate for India to 2.5

million people living with HIV/AIDS, which is less than half of the

previous official estimate of 5.7 million people. This revision is

based on new population-based data from the National Family Health

Survey in India.

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A commentary published in the Lancet on World AIDS Day by health

research experts at The Institute India, explains the basis of

this drop and the implications for future planning of HIV/AIDS

control in India. Author Professor Lalit Dandona, Senior Director of

The Institute India and Chair of International Public Health

at The University of Sydney School of Public Health, said today, " The

data from the recent National Family Health Survey support the

findings from similar studies we conducted in southern India, where

we showed that the previously used official method for estimation of

HIV burden in India was in fact not valid, and led to a 2•5 times

higher estimate than what is actually the case. "

Professor Dandona explains that well-designed scientific population-

based surveys provide a more reliable representation of HIV in India,

compared to the official method used so far, which extrapolated data

directly from large public-sector hospitals to the population. " The

official method overestimated the burden of HIV in India as the

profile of patients visiting large public-sector hospitals is quite

different from the population at large, in terms of disease

distribution including HIV, " he said.

Professor Dandona believes that the new and much reduced HIV estimate

for India has several implications. " We can now see that the official

method for annual estimation of HIV prevalence in India needs

revision. The new figures show the projected number of people needing

HIV treatment over the next decade, and the associated resources

needed, will be less than previously anticipated. "

Importantly, the new HIV estimate for India indicates that HIV rates

as seen in sub-Saharan Africa will not occur in India, says Professor

Dandona. HIV prevention efforts in India should therefore be targeted

directly at high-risk groups, such as sex workers, men who have sex

with men, mobile populations (migrant labourers and truckers), people

with other sexually transmitted infections, and injection drug users.

Other areas of focus should include counselling, testing, prevention

of transmission from mother to child, and blood-transfusion safety.

In addition, Professor Dandona says the public-health approach for

HIV control in India needs to become more scientific. " The

establishment of a reliable estimate of HIV burden in India is only

an initial step, what's needed now is more scientific effort to

understand the dynamics of HIV spread in India and the impact of

interventions on HIV control in India, " he said.

Adapted from materials provided by Institute India.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203173007.htm