31people in Batticaloa District diagnosed with AIDS

Thirty One patients have been diagnosed with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) up to December this year in the Batticaloa District, Dr. Anushiya Srishankar Medical Officer in-charge of the STD and AIDS Control Division said.

She provided the above data yesterday and said that awareness programmes on AIDS were extensively carried out in all the 14 MOH Divisions in the Batticaloa District.

Dr. Anushiya Srishankar said that out of the 31 people who had been subjected to AIDS from various areas in the Batticaloa District, 26 in Colombo and five patients, including two women and three men were being directly monitored by the STD and AIDS Control Division in Batticaloa. A survey conducted in that context had revealed that more than half the number of patients were men while 90% of them had contracted HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in foreign

The current awareness programmes initiated by us helped the AIDS patients to get over the social stigma

countries. Meanwhile, the awareness programme initiated by them to educate the public was extensively carried out in the Batticaloa District,

She said that the main objective of launching the awareness programme was to encourage the public to do a blood test to prevent the disease from spreading to the others while treating the patients diagnosed with the disease.

“The current awareness programmes initiated by us helped the AIDS patients to get over the social stigma they were subjected to as AIDS was considered a serious and deadly disease and hence those who have contracted the disease did not want others to know about it. Around 12,000 expectant mothers, 2,400 prisoners, 3,600 OPD patients and between 5,000 and 6,000 in the villages were subjected to blood tests every year in the Batticaloa District,” she said. “Those who have contracted HIV and those free from the disease should be treated alike under the theme of the AIDS programme that states “Everyone is important”. By administering treatment to the HIV patient the others could be prevented from contracting the disease. Meanwhile those who have not contracted HIV should be educated and protected from contracting the disease,” Dr. Anushiya Srishankar said.