Mayor B Amuda flags off AIDS awareness rally in Chittoor

Chittoor/Nellore: District Medical Department organised Aids eradication awareness rally on Thursday on the occasion of Worlds AIDS Day. Mayor B Amuda flagged off the rally and Deputy Mayors Rajendrakumar Reddy and Chandrasekhar also took part in the rally. Addressing the rally, Mayor B Amuda said that stage has been set for declaring the state free from AIDS disease and intensified steps to eradicate the disease from all angles.

She reiterated that the youth should be very cautious in this regard and felt that AIDS would be no more a life threat disease if prescribed treatment was taken at right time. District AIDS Control officer Dr Ravi Raju said that out of 1,500 tests conducted, 200 HIV positive cases have been reported. Government Hospital Superintendent A Aruna Kumar and nursing students took part in the rally and formed a human chain at Gandhi circle.

In Nellore, the Medical and Health department organised a rally in connection with the World AIDS Day on Thursday in the city and the local branch of the Indian Red Cross Society also participated in it. DM&HO Dr M Penchalaiah said there was a significant trend of decreasing HIV infections in the country and a similar situation prevailed in the district too.

The rally was organised from the Gandhi Statue in the city and the DM&HO formally flagged off it which continued up to town hall. He said safe sex practices, use of disposable syringes and better treatment procedures were major reasons for declining trend of cases and for preventing the spreading of infection from the mother to child.

Dr Penchalaiah said the department was striving hard to control the spread of virus through various awareness-creation methods. DTCO Dr G Venkata Prasad and CEO of SETNEL Pullaiah participated. Further, IRCS staff members D Rajendra Prasad and others participated in the rally.