KARACHI, July 24: Doctors at a workshop on Wednesday stressed the need to impart education to schoolboys and girls on sex- related diseases and drug abuse to save them from hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

The three-day workshop on HIV/AIDS was organized by the National Institute of Labour Administration Training (NILAT) at its auditorium in Karachi.

Speaking at the concluding session, Dr Ali Imran, president of the International AIDS Association, advised women to be careful when getting their nose and ears pierced. He referred to Pamela Anderson of Bay Watch who disclosed recently that she got infected with hepatitis C virus while being tattooed.

“There are 58 million HIV positive persons in the world, of those 90 per cent belong to the developing countries”, Dr Imran said adding that main source of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis were infected needles, pre-marital and extra-marital sex and infected blood. He stressed the need to educate the young generation in this regard.

Dr Imran also showed a live internet presentation with HIV/AIDS patients in the USA, the UK and Canada.

Dr Abdul Mujeeb, in charge blood bank, Jinah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi, stressed the importance of screening blood before its transfusion to patients in rural and urban areas. He said that infected blood was the main source of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS virus transmission in Asia.

“We should avoid getting blood from professional donors as most of them are drug users and infected with hepatitis”, he added.

Director general NILAT, Syed Hakim Ali Shah Bukhari, in his address expressed concern on the rise of HIV/AIDS in Asia during the past five years and emphasised on coordinated efforts at the level of government as well as non-governmental organizations to supplement the National Aids Control Program.

He suggested launching of a mass awareness campaign against at factories, schools, parks, colleges, hotels and homes.—PPI