Post News Network
Berhampur, April 17: Even as the government claims to have been spending over Rs 40 lakh per annum to contain AIDS in Ganjam district that has the highest number of HIV-positive patients in the state, the dearth of kits to identify the disease has irked people.
Pregnant women, female sex workers, bonded labourers and eunuchs, who need an urgent test for the disease, face a tough time due to non-supply of AIDS testing kits in the government hospitals and in Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) for the last one month.
The first AIDS victim in the district was identified in 2000. Since then, blood test of people visiting the government hospitals is being conducted.
According to official sources, apart from selected government hospitals including MKCG Medical College and Hospital and City Hospital, free AIDS test is being conducted at 28 ICTCs.
The district AIDS control cell is more concerned about female sex workers, bonded labourers and eunuchs as they are more exposed to the disease. That apart, focus is given on pregnant women as transmission of the disease from the mother to the foetus can be avoided if given timely treatment.
The test kits are provided by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) under the Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Each test kit contains three plates. If a sample shows positive in the first plate, it is being tested in second and third plates for confirmation.
However, the testing kits available in the markets have only one plate. That apart, the kits in the markets are sold at Rs 400. As people belonging to economically poor sections cannot afford to the cost, they prefer not to undergo any test for the disease.
According to statistics, the district contains 36 per cent of the total AIDS victims in the state. As many as 1150 AIDS affected people have died since 2000. Every month, over a hundred of people are tested positive for the disease, while around 50 people undergo test for the disease every day.
According to the Health department sources, 5.6 lakh people underwent the HIV test in the district till 2014 December, out of which, 13,000 were identified with the disease. Notably, the total number of AIDS affected persons in the state is 33,000. Out of the 2.9 lakh women, who underwent the test, 70,000 were pregnant and samples of 12,389 of them tested positive for the disease.
The highest number of AIDS affected people (847) is in the Aska block, while Jagannath Prasad block has the lowest (152). There are a total of 632 AIDS affected-people in the areas under Berhampur Municipal Corporation and in Rangeilunda block. The number of AIDS victims increased by 880 last year, while the district has 177 AIDS deaths till date.
When contacted, Programme manager of the district AIDS control cell Debabrata Mohapatra said supply of kits has been stopped for the last one month. They expect that the supply would resume within the next few days.