AIDS situation explosive in India, say doctors
Varam, D.
Aids Asia Voice of the Asian Solidarity Against Aids 3(6): 9
1996
PMID: 12290316 Document Number: 298074
An estimated 200,000 people are infected with HIV in Mumbai, India's commercial capital of 13 million. I.S. Gilada, a doctor at the forefront of the campaign against HIV in India, reports that almost 65% of Bombay's 70,000 red-light district prostitutes have tested positive for infection with HIV. He further estimates that there are 4 million people infected in India and notes that there is no other country with so many HIV cases. The number of HIV-infected people in India could grow to 15-20 million by the year 2000 if no serious effort is made to check the spread of HIV. Participants to the 11th International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver discussed how to control HIV/AIDS. The state of Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai account for a large proportion of the total number of AIDS cases reported in India. The state health director reports that HIV/AIDS is being given priority attention in Maharashtra and that there will be no shortage of funds allocated for prevention and control. Current measures include HIV prevention programs targeted to students and prostitutes.