85 people found HIV positive in Kashmir in 2008

By Fayaz Wani

Srinagar, Dec 1: The restive Kashmir has witnessed a 50 percent increase in the HIV positive cases and 85 people were found affected by the deadly disease in 2008.

The latest HIV positive figures were released by Kashmir's biggest hospital, SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) on World AIDS Day.

The experts said Kashmir though considered as a lowest prevalence region with 193 cases so far, has no reason to be complacent as 85 HIV positive cases were reported in 2008.

"However, Kashmir can take an advantage of being a conservative and religious community. Religious communities in sub-Saharan Africa, where the prevalence rates are otherwise very high, have to a large extent protected themselves from the epidemics of the HIV infection," the experts said.

Meanwhile, UNAIDS report 2008 depicts lower numbers of new cases in India this year compared to 2007 from 3 million cases to 2.7 million cases.

However, at the same time, newer epidemic areas like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe are emerging on the world scene.

Organizing Secretary of the AIDS function in Kashmir, Dr Mushtaq A Siddiqi highlighted the role of various management strategies of ART, Gene therapy and vaccine developments.

"All strategies fall short of ideal treatment," he said. "In the absence of any ideal treatment modality, we have to bank upon preventive strategies which have to be community oriented."

Religious scholar Dr Abdul Rehman War emphasized upon the role of Islam in curbing the epidemic.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.

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