Mysuru: Incidences of HIV positive cases have come down in the Mysuru district thanks to consistent awareness, follow-up and medication by the District AIDS Control Office Unit (DACOU). The number of anti-natal mothers (ANM) infected with HIV has also come down.
Since 2005, there have been a total of 11,898 infected persons across the district. A majority of them are male who were infected during unprotected sex. As many as 789 of them died. However, over the past two years, the number of HIV positive cases in the Mysuru district has come down. In 2017, 1268 persons, including 55 anti-natal mothers (ANM) were found to be infected. In 2018, 1086 persons, including 45 ANM were infected with HIV, while in 2019 the number of cases came down to 981 including 39 ANM cases. Around 6000 people living with HIV are on antiretroviral therapy and are given free treatment at three different ART Centres – KR Hospital, JSS Hospital and Asha Kirana Hospital.
One of the challenging tasks for DACOU workers is to identify those who have been infected with HIV. If a person tests positive, he or she will be put on ART immediately and given all the necessary counselling to prevent the spread of the infection.
Speaking to Newskarnataka.com Dr P Ravi, District AIDS Control Officer said, “Among the infected people, several are in the age group of 25 to 40 years. They got infected through unsafe sex when they were between 20 to 30 years of age. In the days to come, we have planned more awareness programme in places including PU colleges. Those infected are given free treatment through NACO.”
He also attributed the fall in the numbers of infected persons to the target intervention in the high risk category of people, awareness among the rural population through social works and college students through red ribbon clubs (RRC).
