Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - December 1, 2008
Mary Karugaba And Fred Ouma
According to Uganda AIDS Control Programme manager, Dr. Zainab Akol, there are 1.1 million Ugandans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This means that 737,000 couples live with the virus.
Akol attributed the trend to laxity in testing before marriage, having multiple sexual partners and reduced use of condoms. She explained that any suggestion to use condoms by one of the partner usually breeds suspicion of promiscuity by the other.
"Most of these people are either entering marriage infected or they are engaging in extra-marital affairs. This is why everyone should know his/her status by testing for HIV/AIDS."
She added: "Many think they have been married for over 20 years, it is all safe and they don't care about testing. Some think that if one of the spouses is negative, they too are negative. Yet consistent exposure among discordant couples increases the chance of the other getting infected."
In a brief to Parliament on the World AIDS Day yesterday, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, said about 63% of marrieds who acquired new infections had an HIV-negative spouse. This indicates that the infection is not acquired from the spouse but from an extra marital sexual partner, he said. About 130,000 new infections are occurring in Uganda every year.
Over 77% of all new infections are among adults aged over 25 years.
The director general of health services, Dr. Sam Zaramba, said the fight against the scourge would become more difficult as this was the most productive age group.
"This trend has serious implication in our protracted struggle against this epidemic. It means these people are likely to have children with HIV and because they are still young, they will continue to spread the infection making prevention very difficult," Zaramba told The New Vision.
According to the 2004/5 sero-behavioural survey report, 80% of the infected do not know their status and only 20% do. Many Ugandans are yet to recognize the benefits of testing due to various factors including fear, experts say.
Tumwesigye noted that lack of knowledge of one's HIV status and that of one's partner is a key driver of the HIV epidemic.
He said the World Health Organisation study found that universal HIV testing followed by immediate anti-retroviral therapy can reduce the number of new infections by over 95% within 10 years and virtually eliminate transmission in countries with high levels of HIV prevalence.
Tumwesigye also told Parliament that 27,000 babies acquire HIV annually from their mothers at birth and while breastfeeding, accounting for 21% of all new infections.
"Some mothers do not have access to drugs, while others have no alternative but to breastfeed their children," he said.
About 6.4% Ugandans aged 15-59 are infected with HIV. Of these, 7.3% are women and 5.2% men.
Commenting on Tumwesigye's presentation, Christopher Kibazanga (FDC) said the infection rate had increased because of laxity by leaders.
"Our focus should be on looking for the vaccine. Let's stop talking about the disease and start acting. Where are our scientists? Why is Africa being used as a testing ground for drugs manufactured in Europe?" he asked.
Margaret Babadiri (Disability) noted that the transmission among children had increased because most rural health centres lacked drugs and expertise to stop mother-to-child transmission.
She said Ugandans should not relax because AIDS has no cure.
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