This according to Study done on India's Situation.
HIV/AIDS in India
India is experiencing rapid and extensive spread of HIV. This is particularly worrisome since
India is home to a population of over 900 million. As a single nation it has more people than the
continents of Africa, Australia and Latin America combined.
There are an estimated 2 to 5 million people infected with HIV in India today, and 50,000 to
100,000 cases of AIDS may have already occurred in the country.
This epidemic is fueled by both married and unmarried men visiting sex workers.
The most rapid and well-documented spread of HIV has occurred in Bombay and the State of
Tamil Nadu. In Bombay HIV prevalence has reached the level of 50 percent in sex workers, 36
percent in STD patients and 2.5 percent in women attending antenatal clinics.
Certain regions, such as eastern India (Calcutta area) and northern India (New Delhi region),
still show a lower prevalence of HIV (1 to 2 percent) among sex workers.
Contrary to traditional belief, sexually transmitted diseases and sex with multiple partners are
common in the country, both in urban and rural areas. An estimated 3 to 4 percent of some rural
populations have a sexually transmitted disease.
Injecting drug use is a problem in Manipur, which is in the North East region, where 55 percent
of drug users are HIV-infected and 1 percent of women attending antenatal clinics are infected
with HIV.
HIV is rapidly spreading to rural areas through migrant workers and truck drivers. Surveys
show that 5 to 10 percent of some truck drivers in the country are infected with HIV.
An estimated 1 to 2 million cases of tuberculosis occur in India every year. In Bombay 10
percent of the patients presenting with tuberculosis are HIV-positive. Tuberculosis is the
presenting symptom of AIDS in over 60 percent of AIDS cases.
A major international and governmental effort is necessary to respond effectively to this severe
epidemic.
HIV/AIDS in India
India is experiencing rapid and extensive spread of HIV. This is particularly worrisome since
India is home to a population of over 900 million. As a single nation it has more people than the
continents of Africa, Australia and Latin America combined.
There are an estimated 2 to 5 million people infected with HIV in India today, and 50,000 to
100,000 cases of AIDS may have already occurred in the country.
This epidemic is fueled by both married and unmarried men visiting sex workers.
The most rapid and well-documented spread of HIV has occurred in Bombay and the State of
Tamil Nadu. In Bombay HIV prevalence has reached the level of 50 percent in sex workers, 36
percent in STD patients and 2.5 percent in women attending antenatal clinics.
Certain regions, such as eastern India (Calcutta area) and northern India (New Delhi region),
still show a lower prevalence of HIV (1 to 2 percent) among sex workers.
Contrary to traditional belief, sexually transmitted diseases and sex with multiple partners are
common in the country, both in urban and rural areas. An estimated 3 to 4 percent of some rural
populations have a sexually transmitted disease.
Injecting drug use is a problem in Manipur, which is in the North East region, where 55 percent
of drug users are HIV-infected and 1 percent of women attending antenatal clinics are infected
with HIV.
HIV is rapidly spreading to rural areas through migrant workers and truck drivers. Surveys
show that 5 to 10 percent of some truck drivers in the country are infected with HIV.
An estimated 1 to 2 million cases of tuberculosis occur in India every year. In Bombay 10
percent of the patients presenting with tuberculosis are HIV-positive. Tuberculosis is the
presenting symptom of AIDS in over 60 percent of AIDS cases.
A major international and governmental effort is necessary to respond effectively to this severe
epidemic.
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