Over 70% Women in Haryana Lack Awareness on HIV: Doctors Call For Awareness on World AIDS Day

Gurgaon: Victims contract AIDS when the HIV virus disrupts their immune system and the body loses its ability to fight against various parasites surrounding us. These infections include certain types of cancer, tuberculosis, pneumonia and other infections.

Dr Rajesh Kumar Sr. Consultant – General Physician Paras Hospitals Gurgaon “AIDS is usually the end stage of HIV infection and refers to the late stages of infection. The diagnosis of HIV is simpler and less complicated than the diagnosis of AIDS. Determining AIDS is also through opportunistic infections that can be caused by various parasites making the immune system relatively weak. The transmission of HIV virus are primarily sexual, contact of blood through open sores or affected gums, intravenous drug users etc. In Haryana alone, there have been numerous cases of female sexual workers who have contracted HIV infection.

HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease but with advancement in technologies and pharmaceutical innovations, people can survive through the disease for a considerable amount of time. Initially diagnosis of HIV/AIDS was considered a death sentence. But with remedial therapies like antiretroviral treatment and drugs, organizations around the world are making considerable improvement in eliminating the epidemic virus. With India reportedly being the third largest HIV-infected country in the world, with approximately 25 lakh HIV patients, new treatment medicines with reduced side effects can help improve adherence to treatment.