Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 7 Dec 1995
Dr Lalit Nath, director of the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi, is part of a team trying estimate how much the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is costing in lost economic production.
"The productive loss to India in terms of person-years is 32.6 million," Nath told a global conference on AIDS and the law.
"In terms of rupees, the total loss to the country is 477.2 billion rupees a year. So let us not cavil about the amount of money we want to invest on HIV and AIDS."
The study was based on conservative estimates of the incidence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the population, and statistics that show most HIV carriers die of AIDS-related diseases within about 10 years, he said.
India is fast emerging as the epicentre of the epidemic in Asia, where health officials say the AIDS outbreak is potentially more explosive than anywhere in the world.
From October 1994 to October 1995, the number of confirmed HIV-positive cases in India leapt to 21,131 from 1,651, while the number of diagnosed AIDS cases more than doubled to 2,095 from 885, Nath said, quoting figures compiled by the National AIDS Control Organisation.
The World Health Organisation estimates 1.5 million people carry the HIV virus in India and says there could be at least five million by the end of the century. HIV is the virus that can lead to AIDS.
Another study showing the increasing number of pregnant Indian women carrying the HIV infection -- 1.8 percent in Bombay, 3.8 percent in Pune -- suggests that the virus has moved into the general population, Nath said.
"It is no longer us and them, and them who are at risk."
AIDS is transmitted in India mainly through heterosexual sex. Blood transfusions, intravenous drug abuse, migrant workers, prostitution and homosexual sex have also facilitated its spread, health workers said.
Lawmakers can help combat AIDS by passing legislation relating to public health and employment, intravenous drug use, prostitution and blood bank standards, Nath said.
"The law must encourage and enable community action, while protecting and caring for those who are HIV-positive," he said.
At the opening of the five-day conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao said the fight against AIDS needed a concerted effort from all of society.
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