Timely testing & early diagnosis have helped patients derive maximum benefit from ART, say docs
Ahead of the World AIDS Day, we have something to cheer about. As per the data consolidated by the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS), the city has seen a sharp decline in the number of HIV cases among high-risk groups in the city has seen a decline in the past five years. According to the data, there has been a 54.4 per cent decline in female sex workers, 20.7 per cent in men who have sex with men (MSM) and 42.9 per cent in trans people.
According to the officials of the MDACS, increasing awareness, early detection and timely testing has played an important role in decreasing the number of cases in the past few years.
Dr Srikala Acharya, additional project director of MDACS, said, "The awareness level among the citizens has increased majorly due to various campaigns and community conversations. This has lead to a decrease in the number of cases infected with HIV AIDS across the city. There has been a declining trend for a few years. Besides this, the number of people screened for HIV has increased in the past five years. Early diagnosis and timely treatment play an important role in the decline."
"While 2.8 lakh people were screened across the city in 2013-14, the number has increased to more than 3.9 lakhs in 2017-18," she added.
Shedding more light on the declining trend, Dr Padmaja Keskar, BMC's executive health officer, "Timely treatment and testing during early pregnancy has led to a sharp decline in mother to child HIV infection transmission rate. Also, there has been a targeted intervention unit to implement the HIV prevention and care programme among the high-risk groups."
The number of newly infected pregnant women declined from 255 in 2013-14 to 149 in 2017-18. As per 2017-18 data, while the number of diagnosed cases in the male is 63.55 per cent, it women it is 35.6 per cent, and 0.9 per cent in transgender population.
The doctor further added, "HIV awareness in children is also important if we want to eradicate the disease. The younger generation must more focus on prevention of the infection by using preventive methods and indulge in safe behaviour."
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