Gay sex is on the rise in Bangalore and so its victims. More than 19 per cent of Bangalorean gay men are now carrying the deadly AIDS-causing virus.
The Garden City has earned the dubious distinction of being the No 2 among the cities having high incidence of HIV infection among homosexual men.
Pune is ahead of Bangalore. The rise in gay sex and subsequent HIV infection took place between 2004 and 2006, according to the 2006 HIV sentinel surveillance analysis carried out by the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare in Delhi and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). While in 2004 only 10 per cent gay men in Bangalore had the virus, the figure rose to 11.6 per cent in 2005 and jumped to a whopping 19.2 per cent in 2006.
The information has been collected from a sentinel site run by a non-governmental organisation called Jagruthi.
The trend is similar in Pune where within two years HIV prevalence among homosexual men almost doubled. On the contrary, metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Chennai showed a declining trend in the same period.
Other southern cities where gay sex is spreading HIV/AIDS include Villuppuram in Tamil Nadu, South Goa, Chennai and Puducherry.
As many as four Kerala cities — Kannur, Kollam, Kasaragod and Ernakulam — are beginning to see this trend as more than 75 per cent of gay men attending clinics in these cities were found to be HIV positive.
The national capital also illustrated the same pattern. In fact, north-east Delhi displayed the maximum HIV prevalence of 32.8 per cent among men having sex with men. West Delhi and north-west Delhi too exhibited similar trends.
The HIV Sentinel Surveillance Survey 2006 is based on data collected from 1,122 sites, out of which 28 sites were exclusively for the gay. What is alarming is the fact that in 11 out of the 28 sites, HIV prevalence was more than five per cent, making it clear that unprotected gay sex is spreading the disease.
A district-wise analysis in Karnataka showed high HIV prevalence in people — more than three per cent — among those attending Hassan district hospital, Belgaum district hospital and general hospital in Gokak. The State had 54 sentinel sites out of which 32 sites had more than one per cent prevalence.
However, the State has achieved a big success in Dharwad where 6.25 per cent prevalence in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubli and 7.25 per cent prevalence seen in the general hospital in Navalgund were brought down to one and 0.75 per cent respectively.
Honestly, I'm losing my interest to read such journals when I see this kind of bashings on certain community without any roots. while this article has been made to look like one that gives statistical information, right from the title to last paragraph it only does homosexual bashing and provokes hatred towards homosexuals. Readers are no fools; I'm a heterosexual male and my brother is gay. And our family is proud of him. Cheap journalism - highly disappointed Deccan Herald!!
by Ind. on 2/15/2008 2:15:26 AM
A shocking example of Sensationalist Journalism that's sweeping through our nation's Media. At last, few respectable newspapers like The Hindu and now, Deccan Herald too are losing credibility with biased and anti-social articles such as this. A terrible job by the journalists...
A phrase like "gay sex is on the rise" is as foolish and meaningless as the phrase "left-handedness is on the rise". The article is a miasma of blatant factual errors and simple ignorance. One gently suggests that the journalist attend a workshop on awareness about sexual minorities at the NGO mentioned!
by Anujosephtk on 2/13/2008 6:32:24 AM
Very cheap publicity material. Didnot expect this from a news paper in 2007. Fabricated data, false arguments. If HIV is a gay disease, why society should bother? The virus will confine within the community. This kind of writings is not only anti gay, but also anti women. That it does not look at the spread of HIV among house wives. They are the worst victims. At least in India, HIV is a heterosexual disease, whether you like it or not.
by Philip Vinod Peacock on 2/13/2008 1:26:37 AM
I am upset at the openly anti-gay bashing that this article indulges in. The question of HIV/AIDS cannot be reduced to an illness of just the gay community, but it is a human problem. Just being gay does not mean that one has HIV as the article seems to suggest. At the same time the articles views on sexuality is retrograde and not in synch with a progressive newspaper like yours.
by tarunrkr on 2/12/2008 11:50:26 PM
This homophobic write up fakes like an authentic one. But there is no comparison between gay men and other people. Because of HIV awareness organisations and their out reach, many 'men who have sex with men' go for HIV test, than other people. And that is the reason why their statistics is available. But that should not have been used against gays as a whole and say that majority of gay men are positive. Gays are still fighting for acceptance in the country, and this article portray them badly.
