<p>"This dreaded disease has spread its tentacles all across the globe and is expected to cause as many as 40 million deaths this millennium," the speaker said in a statement read out in Lok Sabha when the house convened at 11 a.m on Tuesday.<br /><br />“Eradication of the disease is one of the toughest challenges for mankind,” the speaker added. India has a population of one billion, around half of whom are adults in the sexually active age group. The first AIDS case in India was detected in 1986; since then HIV infection has been reported in all states and union territories.<br /> <br />"Let us, on this occasion, rededicate ourselves to creating awareness about this disease and to take concrete steps for its check and eventually its eradication," the speaker added.<br /><br />At present 2.5 million people in India are affected by HIV. The spread of HIV in India has been diverse, with much of India having a low rate of infection and the epidemic being most extreme in the southern half of the country and in the far north-east. <br /><br />The highest HIV prevalence rates are found in Maharashtra in the west; Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the south; and Manipur and Nagaland in the north-east. As of August 2006, 90 percent of all nationally reported AIDS cases have been found in 10 of the 38 states and union territories. <br /></p>
<p>"This dreaded disease has spread its tentacles all across the globe and is expected to cause as many as 40 million deaths this millennium," the speaker said in a statement read out in Lok Sabha when the house convened at 11 a.m on Tuesday.<br /><br />“Eradication of the disease is one of the toughest challenges for mankind,” the speaker added. India has a population of one billion, around half of whom are adults in the sexually active age group. The first AIDS case in India was detected in 1986; since then HIV infection has been reported in all states and union territories.<br /> <br />"Let us, on this occasion, rededicate ourselves to creating awareness about this disease and to take concrete steps for its check and eventually its eradication," the speaker added.<br /><br />At present 2.5 million people in India are affected by HIV. The spread of HIV in India has been diverse, with much of India having a low rate of infection and the epidemic being most extreme in the southern half of the country and in the far north-east. <br /><br />The highest HIV prevalence rates are found in Maharashtra in the west; Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the south; and Manipur and Nagaland in the north-east. As of August 2006, 90 percent of all nationally reported AIDS cases have been found in 10 of the 38 states and union territories. <br /></p>
