MUMBAI: The prevalence of HIV in pregnant women in Mumbai has come down
drastically over the last six years.
Only .70% of the pregnant women tested till August were found to be
HIV-positive as compared to 2002 when the figure stood at 4.10%. These
statistics were revealed by the Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS)
on Friday.
Officials attributed the drop to successful implementation of HIV/AIDS
preventive programmes by MDACS. "This was made possible because we increased
our scope of work—along with NGOs and corporate sectors—and carried out
several prevention programmes successfully, including targeting high-risk
groups," said MDACS project director Dr Shantaram Kudalkar.
Over the last two years, MDACS has widened its scope of work by testing all
women who come for pregnancy tests for HIV.
Kudalkar said that various other programmes such as, PPTCT (Prevention of
Parent to Child Transmission) started since 1998. "We are definitely seeing
a decline, which can be attributed to the massive health awareness which is
being created. We have been spreading knowledge for 20 years, and are slowly
seeing a change of attitude," said Dr Rekha Daver, who heads the PPTCT
centre at JJ Hospital.
However, sceptics say the statistical shift can't be taken at face value. An
HIV/AIDS expert pointed out that in 2002, the HIV test
was offered only in government hospitals, thereby there was a selection
bias. "We are now testing all pregnant women. Since the denominator is
higher, the percentage has automatically come down."
