Steep increase in HIV/AIDS infection among Tamil Nadu youth

CHENNAI: As the government prepares to observe International Day for AIDS on Saturday, the state is witnessing a steep increase in new HIV/AIDS infection among youngsters despite an overall fall in new cases.
Public health experts suspect unprotected sex and exchanging of needles in the 10-25 age group in the state to be the major reasons behind the spurt.While increase in cases has also been seen among the elderly, there is a drastic decline among other age groups.

Tho ugh the incidence of the infection in TN, which recorded 43% of all cases in the country in 2003, has come down to less than 10% this year, it has gone up from 160 in 2015-16 to 187 in 2017-18 in the 10-19 age group. At least 99 people in the age group have tested positive between April and October this year.
In the 20-25 age group, the number of cases has gone up from 432 in 2015 to 554 in 2017-18. At least 318 cases have been recorded between April and October this year. In the 60 and above age group, the numbers went up to 699 in 2017-18 from 536 cases in 2015-16. This year, 435 cases have been recorded between April and October.
‘Use social media for HIV awareness’
Project director, Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society, K Senthil Raj, said, “There are a lot of dating apps and social media websites that encourage youngsters to get into active sex life. Older methods of attracting target audience such as sex workers and truckers will not work with them. While it is important to keep a tab on conventional spots, it is equally important to use social media and dating apps to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS.”
While several surveys, including those carried out by the union health ministry, have recorded significant drop in awareness about HIV/AIDS in the state, funding from the Centre, state and external agencies to AIDS control society too have fallen. This year of the 69 crore outlay, 55 crore went towards salaries. “Most of our staff have been working here for more than 15 years and the salaries have substantially increased. In addition, 13 crore was given to NGOs for various programmes,” said a senior officer at TANSACS.
The number of people testing positive at the voluntary testing and counselling centres have dropped to mere 30%. “This means a majority of people are being tested positive at the tertiary care centres where they go with complaints of other diseases or complications of HIV. This also means they are not diagnosed early,” said R Madhuri, a psychologist who has been working in capacity building projects with NGOs. “It means the battle against AIDS is far from over,” she said.
“We are doing all that we can to grab the attention of youth,” said Senthil Raj. This year, the society has organised a meme contest to create awareness on the infection. The state had received over 1,000 memes, mostly from people below the age of 30 years.