BENGALURU, July 30: India’s southern state of Karnataka is among the country’s worst-affected regions for HIV, with an estimated 260,000 people currently living with the virus, according to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Consolidated Report 2024.
The report says around 205,000 people are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), leaving a significant number of HIV-positive individuals outside the treatment system.
To bridge this gap and encourage early diagnosis, Karnataka has intensified awareness efforts targeting students and young people. Under the state’s Mobilisation for AIDS Protection campaign, students can scan QR codes to confidentially assess their HIV risk and access information about testing and prevention.
Health experts say the initiative is particularly important because people infected with HIV can remain symptom-free for years while unknowingly transmitting the virus.
Dr. Neha Rastogi, an infectious disease specialist at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram, said HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual contact, infected blood transfusions, sharing contaminated needles or syringes, and from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. She emphasized that the virus does not spread through casual contact such as handshakes, sharing meals or social interaction.
Rastogi also warned that rising HIV cases in Assam highlight the need for stronger public awareness, early testing and preventive measures across India.
Globally, efforts to combat HIV are guided by the 95-95-95 targets, which aim for 95 percent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed to receive treatment, and 95 percent of those on treatment to achieve viral suppression.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima has urged countries to build on the progress made over the past 25 years and accelerate efforts to meet the global HIV targets by 2030.
Source: NDTV.
