Monday, April 15, 2013

Newspaper Sources Data from SACS, says "More women contract AIDS"

Published on Deccan Chronicle (http://www.deccanchronicle.com)

More women contract AIDS

DC | Jose Kurian | 14 April 2013

Kozhikode: Despite the claims of Kerala state AIDS control society (KSACS) over the diminishing trend in HIV infection, the number of women affected with HIV is alarmingly high. Thiruvananthapuram district tops the list with 1,749 women (total 4,565) affected with HIV as per the details sourced by DC from KSACS under the Right to Information act.

Going by the data, among the total 23,206 HIV patients registered in the state, 9,062 are women (39.05%). Among the total 11,919 patients who tested positive during the last five years (between 2008 and 2013) 4,535 were women (38.04%).

Among districts, Thrissur is in the second slot with 1,520 women (total 3,806) whereas Kozhikode is in the third slot with 1,520 women (total 3,646). Wayanad district registered the least number of women. (71 women, total 201).

The number of women infected with HIV in other districts were Kollam- 323 (total 794), Pathanamthitta -213 (total-542), Alappuzha- 374 (total -956), Ernakulam- 525 (total 1496), Idukky-161 (total-326), Kottayam -879 (total-2035), Malappuram- 146 (total 408), Palakkad 831 (total 1996), Kannur- 432 (total- 1302) and Kasargod- 477 (total 1133).

Among the patients registered at the eight Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres which provide free treatment to HIV patients attached to government hospitals in the state, ART centre at Thrissur medical college hospital (MCH) tops the list with 1,864 women closely followed by MCH, Kozhikode (1,461) and MCH, Thiruvana-nthapuram (1,416).

Going by the KSACS data in the total 18,418 patients registered at the ART centres, 7,149 are women, 10,289 are men and 980 children.

Source URL: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130414/news-current-affairs/article/more-women-contract-aids

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Civic Bodies Role in HIV Response: State Government Issues Guidelines

Published: April 11, 2013

Civic bodies set to take a 'positive' initiative

Staff Reporter

Local bodies in the district will take the initiative of providing assistance to people with HIV. The government has announced guidelines for civic bodies to extend services and assistance to HIV-positive people.

Awareness campaign

Local bodies will coordinate activities such as organising awareness campaigns on transmission of HIV, identifying HIV-positive people, supplying nutritional food to victims, starting programmes to offer social and mental support to victims, initiating welfare activities, setting up adequate facilities at treatment centres and giving assistance to service providers.

As of now the Kerala Aids Control Society and the Health Department have been providing assistance to the HIV victims. The guidelines have been prepared by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration and the Kerala Aids Control Society under the direction of the government. P.P. Balan, director of KILA, said training would be provided to local bodies based on the guidelines.

"The local bodies can play a leading role in organising HIV detection camps, providing financial assistance to conduct laboratory tests and make available medicines and homecare facilities, setting up of social organisations for helping HIV victims and providing educational assistance for the children of HIV-positive people," Mr. Balan said.

Civic bodies also could take the initiative in providing pension, unemployment wages, assistance under Asraya project, basic amenities like housing, toilets, electricity and drinking water, employment training and self-employment opportunities, he said. The guidelines suggest that local bodies can ensure quality services for HIV victims in hospitals under their control.

They can also provide infrastructure facilities for safety projects under the Kerala State Aids Control Society.

Monitoring committee

The guidelines also propose the setting up of a committee with the local body president as chairperson, health standing committee chairman as vice-chairman, medical officer as convenor, and two NGOs working in the field as members, to monitor and coordinate the implementation of activities. The District Planning committee will monitor the district-level activities. The district-level activities will be reviewed by a committee with district planning committee chairman as head and district collector as convenor.

Government prepares guidelines for civic bodies to extend assistance to HIV-positive people.

Printable version | Apr 13, 2013 9:03:21 AM | http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/civic-bodies-set-to-take-a-positive-initiative/article4605109.ece

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

8-year-old contracts HIV from blood transfusion

Note: Some other sources with news on the same incident are:
1. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kerala-8yearold-girl-tests-hiv-positive-after-blood-transfusion/381606-62.html

2. http://www.firstpost.com/videos/eight-year-old-girl-tests-hiv-positive-after-blood-transfusion-in-kerala-677640.html

3. http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article1519941.ece

4. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130328/news-current-affairs/article/8-yr-old-girl-thalassemia-gets-hiv-blood-donor

Today's Paper » NATIONAL

Published: March 28, 2013 00:00 IST | Updated: March 28, 2013 05:18 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/8yearold-contracts-hiv-from-blood-transfusion/article4556833.ece

8-year-old contracts HIV from blood transfusion

Special Correspondent

In what could be a possible case of transfusion-transmitted infection, an eight-year-old girl in Wayanad, a Thalassemia patient, has been found to be infected with HIV virus. Her parents and her younger sibling are HIV negative.

Senior officials of the Health department and Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) said that a detailed investigation would be necessary to ascertain how the girl got the HIV infection and at what point in time because she has been receiving blood transfusions since she was two-and-a-half years old. (because of her inherited blood disorder).

Joint probe

The Director of Health Services said that the government would be ordering a joint investigation by Health department and KSACS into the incident.

The girl has been receiving blood transfusions from the age of two-and-a-half years and till she turned five years old, the transfusions were being given from the Mananthavadi district hospital. Since the past three years, she has been seeking treatment at Kozhikode Medical College hospital, from where she has been receiving blood transfusions also.

It was in July 2012 that she was registered as an HIV patient at the Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) clinic at Kozhikode MCH. In December last, she also got registered at the Drop-in-Centre of KSACS at Wayanad.

Blood safety officials said that even while observing all mandatory safety precautions before accepting blood from a blood donor and then transfusing it, there was always the risk that the donor had donated his blood during the window period.

Window period

The window period is the time window after getting an infection, when the donor is infectious but sufficient number of antibodies have not been developed in the blood for laboratory tests to detect it.

"This (the possibility of getting infected through blood donated during the window period) is a universally accepted risk, anywhere in the world. All test kits which are currently in use in our settings detect the antibodies and has a window period of 45 days to three months. There are major institutions like the Regional Cancer Centre or the Sree Chitra Institute which uses more sensitive test kits which test for both antibodies and viral antigen, in which case the window period can be brought down to 15 days. The risk can be reduced, but cannot be done away with," a Transfusion Medicine specialist said.

"For detecting the viral antigen too, it takes at least three days before a virus multiplies and there is even a possibility of detecting it. We individually counsel blood donors when they come to donate blood about all these risks but the donors need not always be truthful," a blood safety official pointed out.

Blood transfusions are always better avoided unless the benefits outweigh the risks but in the case of the Wayanad girl, her condition necessitated regular transfusions.

Thalassemia

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder which causes the destruction of the protein, haemoglobin, in the red blood cells, resulting in severe anaemia. The condition could lead to severe growth deformities. The treatment involves regular blood transfusions and supplementation of folates.

Of all the common transfusion-transmitted viruses -- HIV, Hep B and C – the HIV virus has the least risk of being transmitted through a needle-prick (0.03 %). Yet, if at all a person gets transfused with HIV-infected blood, the chances of him developing HIV infection is one hundred per cent.

"This is a very unfortunate incident. But it is not very easy to find out when or where the child got HIV infection as she has been receiving transfusions regularly," a senior official said . A similar case of suspected transfusion-transmitted HIV infection had been reported in Kerala a few years ago, when a two-year-old girl, Reshmi, has acquired the infection while under medical treatment.

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Mobile Jyothis for HIV testing

Mobile Jyothis for HIV/AIDS testing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, February 18, 2013

Mobile Jyothis, Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres, an initiative of the Kerala State AIDS Control Society to provide HIV testing, counselling and treatment referrals free of cost, will be flagged off by Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar from the Secretariat on Monday. An official release here said the mobile units would be deployed in areas where Jyothis centres were absent and among high-risk groups.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/mobile-jyothis-for-hivaids-testing/article4426898.ece

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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

[KeralaAIDS] Job Vacancies with Positive Women Network (PWN+)

Dear All,

PWN+ currently has two vacancies in Chennai. Please find details below and share it with interested candidates.

Thanking you,

Kousalya.

President, PWN+

Research and Documentation Officer Deadline: 16 January 2013
Details at: http://bit.ly/PWN-RDO
Finance and Operations Officer
Deadline: 19 January 2013 Details at: http://bit.ly/PWN-FOO

PWN+

"HARIHARATH MAJAM"

10/11, First Floor, Flat No.02

Mahalingam 2nd Street

Mahalingapuram,Chennai 600 034

Chennai.

poswonet@hotmail.com
Www.pwnplus.org
www.sociallight.in

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Job Vacancies in CARD Suraksha Project, Kottarakara

Applications are invited from eligible candidates for the following vacancies in CARD Suraksha Project, Kottarakara.

Position: PROJECT MANAGER

Qualification: MSW/MA Sociology/MPH/MBA with 3 Years Experience.

Salary: 12000 + 500 TA per month

Position : Out Reach Workers (ORW)

Qualification : +2 or above

Salary : 5500 + 400 TA per month.

Interested candidates may send their updated resume to cardsuraksha09@gmail.com on or before 7-12-2012.

For more details : 0474-2160942, 0469-2600931.

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Remembering some dreams on World AIDS Day

On World AIDS Day, Benson dreams of bicycle with gears

http://bit.ly/TyCZSL

Kollam (Kerala) Dec 1 (IANS)

Benson, 17, is a class 11 student. He is HIV-positive and not quite healthy – and he wishes he could have a geared bicycle.

"He owns an ordinary cycle which takes him to school and to the neighbourhood playground, where he plays cricket with his friends. Since he is weak, he says a bicycle with gears would help him ride more easily. But where will I get the money for that," asked Sallamma, his 60-year-old grandmother, while speaking to IANS.

Sallamma's is a two-member family. All she and Benson have are each other, as there is no one left.

Beson's father C.K. Chandy died of Aids in 1997; his mother Princy succumbed to the same disease in 2000.

Benson's sister Bency died in 2010 of AIDS. She was then 16.

In 2003, the story of the two siblings had been widely reported in the national and international media, when they were turned out of school for being HIV-positive.

Along with their grandfather and a large media contingent, the two siblings had walked into the then chief minister A.K. Antony's office to narrate their tale, after warding off security personnel.

The educational needs of the children were taken care of, after that incident.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, then union health minister, publicly hugged and kissed the two children, sending out a strong message against social ostracism of the HIV-positive.

Nearly a decade after being briefly in the limelight, Benson continues to struggle with the effects of the virus.

"All I have now is a widow's pension of Rs.4,000. Benson gets financial assistance, which allows him one litre of milk daily, Horlicks and travel expenses to go to Chennai for his anti-retro viral treatment. HLL Life Care (formerly Hindustan Latex) provides the assistance," Sallamma said.

"Despite all our woes, and despite the struggle to meet expenses, the good thing is that the social ostracism that we experienced earlier is not there now. Benson has some good friends, and he plays cricket with them. Now and then he says he wants a bicycle with gears, but he realises that there is no money for it. Only God and I know how hard life can be, when we're so tight on money," Sallamma said.

http://bit.ly/TyCZSL

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