Washington, Nov 14: With four million suffering from
HIV/AIDS India has reached a point where the disease can
become a pandemic, world bank experts have warned but said it
still has time to prevent such a disaster by taking prompt
measures.
India, said Hnin Pyne, a senior public health specialist
on south Asia human development at the World Bank, is today
where Sub-Sahara Africa was 10 years ago.
India has reached the critical one per cent of pregnant
women going to pre-natal and child health clinics being
diagnosed as victims of HIV-AIDS and the percentage is
increasing, though with regional variation, a World Bank
release said.
Pyne said Indian states where HIV/AIDS is found to be
most prevalent are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Manipur and Nagaland. The virus is contracted
either through unprotected sex or through needles used by
drug-users.
HIV/AIDS has also hit other south Asian countries like
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan
but on a lesser scale.
Bureau Report
