Prevention of AIDS and HIV in INDIA

Bizarre, Below the belt, but brilliant video on AIDS/Condom usage

aidsroko — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:03:22 +0000

‘Saying I’m HIV+ is tough; saying I’m gay is tougher’

aidsroko — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:29:17 +0000

It is a Sunday morning. Outside Hyderabad, at a Rajasthani-style resort named Dhola-ri-dhani, close to 500 men have gathered. The younger among them seem to be in their 20s, the seniors in their 60s. They speak softly, but warmly to each other. Many of them know each other through previous secret meetings but if they were to meet outside, they would not acknowledge that. It would be as though they have never met before. But here they are at peace in a gathering where they can be themselves.

The technical term used to describe them is MSM: Men Who Have Sex with Men. The group gathered here has bisexuals, homosexuals, and transgendered individuals. There are cross-dressers too, conspicuous with their elaborate hair-dos and bright outfits and what appear to be deliberately feminine mannerisms.

The meeting has been organized by the Andhra Pradesh AIDS Control Society and local NGOs who want to build a greater support system for the 60,000 men in Andhra Pradesh who have sex with other men. There is a sense of urgency. HIV is shooting up in the community – from 9 to 11% in the last two years.

Vivek tested positive for HIV in 2003. His wife knows that. What he hasn’t told her is that he contracted the infection when he lived in Mumbai as a young man. To supplement his income as a receptionist, he worked as a paid sex worker. Since his teens, Vivek knew that he was sexually attracted to men. But the fear of rejection by his family and society, he says, nudged him into marrying a cousin He has a 12-year-old daughter now. Vivek says it was humiliating and debilitating to tell his family that he is HIV positive; but telling them about his sexual preference is impossible.

That is the startling consensus here – that the stigma of being gay is more domineering and substantial than that of being HIV positive. And this is what worries health workers. That while society is, however gradually, being trained to overcome its prejudice against HIV and AIDS, there is no comparable progress in how it perceives or treats homosexuality. “In India, it is still a crime,” says Vivek.

More than a year ago, a landmark judgement saw the Delhi High Court decriminalizing homosexuality under Section 377. That verdict has been challenged in the Supreme Court, whose ruling is awaited. The government, however, has not appealed against the High Court’s decision. Chances are, experts say, that the ruling will not be over-turned.

But the gap between legal acceptance and everyday life is expansive and isolating. Nayeem, now in his 30s, came out to his father 10 years ago. It was traumatising for both father and son. After six daughters, his father responded, he wanted his only son to be a “proper man.” Nayeem has held his ground, refusing to marry. But his sexual preference remains a secret.

“With HIV status, people may taunt you a couple of times. Then they accept. But it is not like that with homosexuality. They humiliate you everywhere, call you a hijra,” he says.

The six -hour-long meeting encourages men gathered here to swap stories and understand that they need to access medical extension services offered by the government and NGOs.

And, also, more importantly, help others who find it very difficult to come out and seek guidance. To learn how they can lead a life of their choice and still protect themselves from HIV. Considerable time is spent explaining the need for regular tests. The gathering is familiarised with the exclusive drop-in centre for MSMs, the only one of its kind possibly in the country. Health workers explain that they are lobbying for MSM-specific condoms, with more lubricants, to soon be made available in the market.

At 5 pm, Vivek is ready to leave. He will tell his wife that he spent the day at his office.

47 crore condoms’ sale targeted in AIDS control programme

aidsroko — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:38:40 +0000

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Monday launched the Condom Social Marketing Programme (CSMP), under the third phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-III), targeting sales of 47 crore condoms across 370 districts of the country.

The CSMP will focus on increasing condom availability, particularly in rural areas as well as in non-traditional outlets like grocery shops, roadside eateries, auto/taxi workshops, barber shops etc.

‘Out of the total 8 lakh outlets proposed to be covered in this phase, 5 lakh will be non-traditional outlets with 4.45 lakh in the rural areas. If it (condom) is readily available then the consistent usage could be tackled,’ Aradhana Johri, NACO joint secretary, said.

In this phase, distribution of female condoms is also planned in selected areas and states.

Players attending the Commonwealth Games (CWG) as well as people accompanying them will also be handed free condoms.

‘Talks for installing condom vending machines and free distribution of condoms during the games are going on with the authorities concerned,’ NACO Director General K. Chandramouli told IANS.

According to Johri, major sections needing scaled up intervention are truckers and migrants and more effort will be put in this phase for these sections.

‘We are also planning a separate programme for the migrants apart from this,’ she added.

The objective of NACP-I, implemented in 194 districts, was to control the spread of HIV infection. NACP-II focussed on targeted inventions on high risk groups like commercial sex workers, injecting drug users, and men who have sex with men. It was implemented in 294 districts with 32 crore condom sales.

NACP-III will focus on consistent condom usage.

‘Condom usage has increased. In fact more people are willing to buy it instead of through free distribution. This also shows that the availability of condoms in terms of outlets have increased,’ Chandramouli said.

He said that the entire pattern of the spread of AIDS is being looked into but the high prevalence area is mostly concentrated in peninsular India.

‘Our programmes in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka are doing well though tackling it in Andhra Pradesh is still a challenge. It is a slow process. Also according to an AIDS report of 2008, the number of registered HIV/AIDS affected shows a slight decrease. But we still have a long way to go,’ Chandramouli said.

http://sify.com/news/47-crore-condoms-sale-targeted-in-aids-control-programme-news-health-kicr4bifgfh.html

HIV: Housewives, professionals at high risk now

aidsroko — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:36:02 +0000

After years of providing treatment, care and support for HIV/AIDS among high risk groups like truckers, commercial sex workers, injectable drug users and transgenders, the government is suddenly faced with a new challenge — the increasing incidence of HIV among youth, possibly due to unsafe casual sex. Concerned by the trend, the Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TNSACS) is organising a youth carnival to create awareness and promote safe sex.

The state has been boasting about a decline of infection in the population, but those working in the HIV/AIDS sector fear that there is an increase in the incidence of the disease. A recent analysis undertaken by TNSACS has shown that the profiles of the newly infected people were not from the high risk groups. “Instead they were housewives, single working people and students. We also did a study on usage of condoms among youth. That’s when we found that many have occasional unprotected intercourse with multiple partners,” said Dr. S.Thennarasu, the regional coordinator.

Other senior officals in TNSAC confirmed the trend. “The infection rate is high only within the age-group of 15-29 years. Today, casual sex has a fair amount of social acceptance. Mobility amidst both sexes is on the rise,” the official added.

Others working in the sector agree. “There is a clear decline in the HIV prevalence rates among sex workers and truckers. In a small study we found that casual sex among working professionals particularly those in garment industry and the BPO sector was high.” said Dr R Lakshmibai, the project director of TAI.

As per data furnished by the TNSAC, the prevalence of HIV among commercial sex workers had decreased from 8.8% in 2003 to 3.6% in 2007. Consequently, even prevalence of other Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STD) had decreased from 16.8% in 2000 to 8% in 2007. However, the state registered a total of 28,000 cases in 2008-09 and 30,000 new cases in 2009-10.

“There were only basic awareness programs conducted for the general population. Otherwise, we focused only on target groups. It’s probably time to change that,” said an official. TNSACS, in association with APAC and TAI will organise a youth carnival in August that will attempt to sensitise them to the dangers of unsafe sex with strangers. “Intercourses with multiple partners is always risky,” explained Dr Bimal Charles, project director of Aids Prevention and Control Project (APAC). “And the youth are always prone to experimentation. If they are not aware of safety, it increases the risk.”

The Carnival will attempt to create awareness through mediums the youth relate to, like video and short film competitions on the issue, workshops, jingles and jazzy numbers. “Already, the few interactions that we had with the youth helped us realise that they were hungry for information on this topic.”

AIDS wont happen during Games, for sure!

aidsroko — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:27:54 +0000

In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Delhi AIDS Control Society has planned to install 150 condom vending machines at various public places. While some machines will be in the Games’s Village and inside the stadiums, there will be machines installed at malls, markets, hotels and even paan shops.

“We are ready with the machines and now waiting for the approval from the CWG authorities, hotels and malls across Delhi to install them,” says an official from the National Aids Control Organisation.

HT City asked hotels and malls about their reaction. Many chose to remain quiet, but a few welcomed the idea. “We are comfortable with such an implementation, but we need to figure out a certain way so that it gels well with the aesthetics of our hotel,” says Javed Ali, VP and General Manager, Radisson Hotel, Delhi.

“We can place these machines in the washrooms,” says a spokesperson from the Select Citywalk mall. Paanwallas in the city will be asked to stock condom packets, too. These will cost Rs 3 apiece. “If it becomes a rule, then we have to keep condoms in our shop. Also, it’s a good way to control population. So why not?” says Sunil Jain, who runs a paan shop in Connaught Place.

Government is considering Common Wealth Games as a huge platform to spread the awareness about HIV AIDS and therefore it has decided to set up several condom vending machines at the Commonwealth Games village and in all stadia.

In support to the government, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is also lending their hands in creating awareness for HIV AIDS by distributing free condoms to the players and other support staff.

It is expected that centre will deploy 200 vending machines and one just need a coin of Rs 5 to dispense a single condom. During the games, it is estimated that around one lakh condom will be dispensed.

NACO Director-General K. Chandramouli mentioned that centre will be setting these condom vending machines at offices and hotels associated with the Games.

He also said that discussions are going around with Delhi government and civic authorities to employ manpower in installing condom vending machines.

People can either buy the condoms from these machines or can avail them free from selected venues but interestingly NACO, believed that rather taking condom free of cost, people will like to buy them.

Chandramouli said that usually when people spend some money to purchase something they will use the object for the right purpose, but when they get something free, they either throw the object or fear to use it because of poor quality issues and hence they passed the statement that people will rather buy the condoms instead of taking free condom samples.

NACO to set up centre for HIV patients in city

aidsroko — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:12:46 +0000

LUDHIANA: After working on the oral substitution therapy, the National Aids Control Organization (NACO) will set up a community care centre for HIV patients in the city, the third such in the state.

According to information, two community care centres for HIV patients are already functioning in Patiala and Amritsar, respectively.

Talking to TOI on Saturday, an official of the health department said, “The project will be in joint collaboration with Red Cross as it has received grants of Rs 21.5 lakh for the project. The centre will include 10 beds for HIV patients.”

He said the centre would motivate chronic patients whose families fail to support them in terms of treatment, besides giving them adequate diet.

The official said work had already kicked off and the community care centre would open in the Red Cross building near Civil Hospital. He said a doctor, counsellor, three nurses, four outreach health workers, one part-time lab technician, along with a project coordinator and dietician had been appointed for the job.

Notably, NACO is working on the oral substitution therapy for intravenous drug users so as to control incidence of HIV and for this, work on opening the drug addiction centre is going on.

Dr Geetika Kansal, district aids programme officer said the move had been taken under NACO phase III and was aimed at chronic patients, who could not afford treatment.

Smallpox wipeout sparked AIDS spread?

aidsroko — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:08:29 +0000

End Of Vaccination Took Away Protection From HIV, Say Researchers

Washington: The end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century could be responsible for a loss of protection that led to the rapid spread of HIV, according to researchers.
It is known that vaccinia immunization, as given to prevent the spread of smallpox, reduces HIV replication in the laboratory.
Raymond Weinstein, a scientist at George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, US, in collaboration with a team from George Washington University and UCLA to look at the ability of white blood cells taken from people recently immunized with vaccinia to support HIV replication compared to unvaccinated controls.
To test if smallpox jab interferes with how well HIV multiplies, researchers looked at the white blood cells taken from people recently immunised against smallpox and tested how they responded to HIV.
They found significantly lower replication rates of HIV in blood cells from vaccinated individuals, compared with those from unvaccinated controls. The smallpox vaccine appeared to cut HIV replication five-fold.
“There have been several proposed explanations for the rapid spread of HIV in Africa, including wars, the reuse of unsterilized needles and the contamination of early batches of polio vaccine. However, all of these have been either disproved or do not sufficiently explain the behavior of the HIV pandemic. Our finding that prior immunization with vaccinia virus may provide an individual with some degree of protection to subsequent HIV infection suggests that the withdrawal of such vaccination may be a partial explanation,” Weinstein added.
Smallpox immunization was gradually withdrawn from the 1950s to the 1970s following the worldwide eradication of the disease, and HIV has been spreading exponentially since approximately the same time period.
The researchers have proposed that vaccination may confer protection against HIV by producing long term alterations in the immune system, possibly including the expression of a certain receptor, CCR5, on the surface of a person’s white blood cells which is exploited by both viruses.
Speaking about the results, Weinstein said: “While these results are very interesting and hopefully may lead to a new weapon against the HIV pandemic, they are very preliminary and it is far too soon to recommend the general use of vaccinia immunization for fighting HIV.” AGENCIES

Why some people with HIV develop AIDS

aidsroko — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:57:04 +0000

Scientists are a step closer to understanding why some people with HIV develop full-blown AIDS, and others don’t.

Researchers in Massachusetts and California say that the answer lies in how the immune cells that recognize invaders are educated – a finding that may pave the way for new strategies for designing an HIV vaccine.

The human immune system detects foreign cells with the help of cell-surface proteins called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). Each person’s cells carry a particular set of HLA molecules – the person’s HLA type – which bind fragments of virus or bacterial protein and ”present” them to T cells, the immune cells that recognize and attack infected cells.

But before T cells are ready to perform their killer function, they are in effect trained on fragments of the body’s own proteins – self-peptides – in an organ called the thymus.

To ”graduate” from the thymus, a T cell must be able to recognize at least one combination of HLA molecule and self-peptide, which provides the template for its subsequent immune response against a foreign peptide bound to that HLA molecule. T cells that bind to self-peptides very strongly, however, are rejected, as they would attack the body’s own cells.

Researchers began with two observations. First, HIV-infected people who manage to keep the virus in check – so-called ”elite controllers” – often carry a particular HLA gene variant, HLA B571. Second, people with this gene also have a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system does produce a harmful response against the body’s own proteins.

Arup Chakraborty, an immunologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and one of the lead authors of the study, thought the two observations might be related.

He had not previously studied HIV, but he had studied how T cells are selected in the thymus by their ability to recognize specific HLA molecules and the peptides bound to them. He surmised that the HLA molecules of elite controllers might be binding a relatively small number of self-peptides.

Indeed, a look through a database of the binding properties of HLA molecules revealed that HLA B57, along with HLA B27 – which also protects against HIV – binds a much smaller proportion of self-peptides than HLAs that are not protective. The researchers then used a computer algorithm to predict how this would affect T-cell maturation.

T cells that develop in people with the HLA B57 gene would be presented with a smaller variety of peptides in the thymus. Their model showed these cells have broader activity and would be likely to recognize HIV even if the virus mutates, allowing the immune system of elite controllers to keep the infection under control.

But that same property would also make them more likely to turn on the body’s own cells, explaining why HLA B57 leads to a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases. “If you have a smaller diversity of self-peptides in the thymus,” says Chakraborty, “there’s a higher probability that T cells with a stronger reactivity and cross-reactivity” might be released.

Testing their model on data from 1,900 HIV-infected individuals with known HLA types, 1,100 of which were elite controllers, the researchers found that the progression of the disease was strongly correlated with the number of self-peptides an HLA molecule was able to bind.

The study has been published online in Nature . source : timesofindia

HIV positive kids mark World Orphans Day

aidsroko — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:41:03 +0000

Seventy HIV positive children, as well as those who have lost their parents to the dreaded disease, showed their creative side by enthusiastically participating in different competitions organised by UP Network for HIV positive people and UP State AIDS Control Society, on the occasion of World Orphans Day, on Friday.

In painting competition, Ankita, Anchal and Adarsh secured first, second and third position, respectively. In singing competition, Shikha, Nikhil and Anchal secured first, second and third position, respectively. The children also participated in quiz competition.

Assistant District AIDS Control Programme Officer Dr SAM Meesum and Medical Officer, Anti-retroviral Treatment (ART) centre distributed prizes to the winners of different competitions. All the children who had participated in one or the other competition also received consolation prize.

On the occasion, Dr Meesum said different programmes should be organised for HIV positive children and those who have lost their parents to HIV, so that they do not feel secluded from the society.

UPNP+ founder president Naresh Yadav said the children had come from Pratapgarh and Kaushambi, besides Allahabad for participating in the programme. This is for the first time, a programme for these kids have been organised on World Orphan Day, he added. “The children are in the age group of five to 14 years,” he added.

Project Director SP Goel, Nirmal Tewari, Vishal Chari, Ajita Yadav, Arvind Yadav, Sanjeet Sharma were also present on the occasion.

Article Source : hindustan times

Image Source : http://tyrashow.warnerbros.com/keep_a_child_alive.jpg

IGNOU Initiates HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign

aidsroko — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:44:54 +0000

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has initiated a massive awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS, through its School of Social Work (SOSW). The program will mainly focus on spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS in India.

Through the awareness program, all the fresh students will be mailed with a folder titled ‘HIV/AIDS Prevention guide for students’, carrying basic facts regarding HIV/AIDS. Every year, IGNOU organizes a number of regional-level-seminars and an Annual National Seminar on ‘Social Work Response to HIV/AIDS’. This year, the seminar is being held in Kuttikkanam, Idukki district of Kerala, from August 19-22, 2010.

IGNOU imparts a number of academic programs of study in the topic of HIV/AIDS that includes Certificate in HIV and Family Education, Diploma in HIV/AIDS and Family Education, three electives on HIV /Family education & substance abuse, three courses on HIV/AIDS are on offer in BPP Program, Course on HIV/AIDS: Stigma, discrimination and prevention (on offer in MSW), Introduction to HIV/AIDS, Adolescent and Family Education, launched in B.Ed in 2008 and M.Phil and PhD students of SOSW undertake courses and dissertation on HIV/AIDS.

These courses mainly focus on the causes and effects of AIDS, various ways of preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS and preventing discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS. IGNOU is also conducting awareness programs through mass media. For instance, more than 24 video programs on HIV/AIDS are telecast on Gyan Darshan (IGNOU’s educational channel) and Gyan Vani.

According to National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), there are around 2.5 million people affected by HIV/AIDS in India. If not curbed, India could come at par with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa that are worst affected with HIV/AIDS.