323 people found HIV positive in Andaman

Port Blair, June 9 (UNI) Altogether 323 people have been found HIV-positive in remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands which, according to doctors, is a but vulnerable' area in India.

''We have carried out HIV tests on 74,781 people among whom 71,903 were from these islands and 2,878 foreign nationals, mostly poachers from neighbouring countries,'' the Project Director of Andaman and Nicobar AIDS Control Society (ANACS) Dr Mishri Lall, told reporters today.

Addressing mediapersons during a day-long advocacy workshop on HIV/AIDS, Dr Lall said out of these 323 cases, 170 cases were found among foreign nationals while 153 among local people.

''Out of these 153 cases, 24 cases have been detected in Nicobar District, mainly dominated by Nicobari tribes,'' he added.

According to official records, besides these, 40 cases of AIDS had been reported in Andaman and Nicobar Islands among which only two are surviving.

Among these 40 AIDS cases, 11 were foreign nationals.

''We are conducting compulsory AIDS test on all the foreign poachers of South East Asia, apprehended by Defence and Police forces for illegal fishing in Andaman Sea. Among these poachers the rate of HIV/AIDS is more,'' the project director of ANACS added.

Andaman and Nicobar AIDS Control Society, established in 1992, is working for disseminating awareness on HIV/AIDS in these islands.

''The society is concentrating on young groups and has taken up the awareness campaign in 63 senior secondary and secondary schools out of 94 such schools in these islands,'' Dr Lall said.

''According to a study, every day nearly 7,000 people are getting infected by the HIV virus, which means five people per minute,'' he added.

UNI