But the bad news is that the State continues to rank third highest in the country in HIV/AIDS prevalence, after Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS has come down overall because of awareness in high risk groups such as commercial sex workers, sexual minorities, truckers, injectible drug users (IDUs) etc.
Tamil Nadu, which was among the high prevalence states in India, has reduced the incidence drastically, because of its early intervention programme, which took off in 1991, much ahead of Karnataka, which began only in ’99, under the National AIDS Control Programme — Phase II.

According to Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) there are 559 voluntary counselling and testing centres in the State. “Around 65 per cent of people who come for HIV tests at the VCTCs are from the high risk groups; few are referred by voluntary organisations and doctors, who send them to the centres because of some opportunistic symptoms like fever, constant diahorrea, weight loss etc,” said Dr Bhaktavatsalam, deputy director, Integrated Counselling & Testing Centre (ICTC), KSAPS.

“The numbers will further decrease if more and more people come forward for voluntary testing at the VCTCs, especially pregnant women who are HIV positive. The chances of the transmission of infection from parent to child will minimise, if the mother is given Novrapin (drug that kills HIV virus) timely, during the labour period, and to the new born within 72 hours of birth, from the current 30 per cent to 2 per cent,” he said.

“There’s a risk of transmission of the virus to the infant from the mother’s milk but even that can be controlled if the mother weans away her child in three to four months to top feed. Also, when she’s breast feeding the child, she should not mix it with top feed because we have found that top feed at times can lead to mouth ulceration, through which the HIV virus can be transmitted from the mother’s milk to the child. Till three-four months, the child should be given only mother’s milk,” said Dr Bhaktavasalam.

Awareness through media and voluntary organisations, on prevention, care and support including treatment of HIV has gone a long way in controlling the deadly virus. “We have NGOs working in three target projects — with high-risk people; prevention of parent to child transmission (PPTCT) and in the State-run HIV-TB (prevention) programmes. We have 12 NGOs in the PPTCT programme. We plan to add 40 more to identify more number of positive expectant mothers so that the coverage of Novrapin can be increased. We are also providing services to home makers through media and NGOs. This is another vulnerable section in society and reaching out to them is not easy,” he adds.

On the treatment aspect, Dr Bhatavatsalam said Karnataka has 16 centres where anti-retroviral drugs are given free of cost. “We plan to add eight more anti-retroviral treatment (ART) centres soon, five in district hospitals and three in private medical colleges — KIMS and St John’s Hospital in Bangalore and Asha Kiran in Mysore. The State health department is also planning to set up 60 blood storage centres, at taluk headquarters for free distribution of safe blood under the reproductive and child health programme. As of now there are 19 centres run by KSAPS,” he adds.