AIDS screening tests no more a social stigma

Hyderabad: Gone are the days when people shied away from undergoing AIDS screening tests with the fear of social stigma.

A positive response is being seen for the ongoing Community-Based Testing (CBT) being held across the State. People including women are showing interest to undergo these screenings.

The Health department and various NGOs that are conducting these camps near bus stands, railway stations, labour addas, auto stands, truck points and mass gathering places are being requested to conduct screenings in government offices and in colleges.

The fortnight-long screening camps that started on November 15 already covered municipal offices and Panchayat offices in some districts and also Government Degree Colleges in some places like Peddapalli and

Kamareddy.

Students pursuing higher education are openly coming forward to find out about the "Be Smart", the community-based screening campaign.

People are being given awareness on HIV and asked to fill a SMART application (which is a self-disclosure form) about status, mobility, addictions and history of blood transfusion.

After a quick assessment of it, the staff is asking some of them to undergo a rapid HIV blood test which gives result in 15 minutes.

Those found reactive in the screening test are being taken to the nearest Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre for HIV confirmation test to detect if the person is affected by the dreaded disease or not.

Officials stated that on November 15, they tested 3,000 persons out of which 17 were positive, the following day 26 tested positive out of 4,000 persons and on November 18 (after holiday break due to Sunday) 23 persons tested positive out of 4,000.

Those tested positive so far include educated ones and also some junior artistes. However, most of them are nearing 40 years and above.

In a degree college, over 600 students including girls and boys took part in the "Be Smart" drive and none of them tested positive.

This is the first such drive by the authorities and NGOs going near the doorsteps of the public and it would culminate one day before World AIDS Day being observed on December 1.