KARACHI, June 25: Women in Pakistan are increasingly noticed to be unconsciously exposed to the Acquired-Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) due to imprudence on part of their affected spouse.

This was stated by Dr Sharaf Ali Shah, programme manager, Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP), at an orientation and consultation workshop organized for media representatives by the SACP in collaboration with UNICEF and the Pakistan AIDS Prevention Society on Tuesday.

He said the lethal disease, which during the year 2001 claimed more than three million lives in the world, had assumed a global proportion.

In Pakistan the first AIDS patient was detected in 1986, who was an African sailor, and since then the number of reported cases till 2001 increased to 1886, he added.

In the next ten years, he said, Pakistan would be ranked in the high risk zone of HIV/AIDS as rapid increase in illiteracy, poverty, frustration and other multifarious problems afflicting a large segment of the population, coupled with presence of more than five million drug addicts, may fuel the gravity of the disease beyond a mending stage.

Mentioning physical promiscuity to be contributory to 89 per cent of all HIV (AIDS) transmission in the country, the speaker pointed out that none of the women patients was found to have risk behaviour, but contracted the virus through their husbands, mainly comprising overseas workers.

“The situation tends to be all the more severe as these women, unaware of being infected, are prone to lead towards vertical infection,” Dr Shah said, mentioning that mother-to- child transmission was also reported from different parts of Sindh.

Dr Shah said of the 1,886 HIV/AIDS cases registered in the country till December 2001, 1,664 were HIV positive and 222 were AIDS cases.

“186 persons, which contributed 83.78 per cent of the total full blown Acquired-Immune Deficiency Syndrome infected patients, ranged between 20 to 49 years of age,” he said, mentioning that those in the productive group are among the high risk group.

He further said that 154 persons, constituting 69.37 per cent of the total AIDS cases, were those who acquired the disease through close physical promiscuity, followed by transmission through blood and blood products (7.21 per cent) and repeated application of single syringe.

In the year 2001, the percentage of infected women rose to 20 per cent as of the 36 identified cases women count came to seven against 29 men. One of them was also a child, he said.

Dr Shah claimed that due to stigma attached to the disease, the actual number of these cases must be much higher and there is a dire need to create a certain confidence among the people.

He mentioned that a recent estimation made on the basis of a scientifically-designed forecast model revealed the numbers of such cases to be around 70,000 to 80,000.

The model was said to be jointly designed under the World Health Organization and UN AIDS assistance programme.

The government was also stated to have established some 20 AIDS centres, providing necessary examination and follow-up facilities.

With support of the World Bank the government also plans to establish centres of excellence in the country with a provision for treatment as well as training-cum-research facilities, he said.

The Dow Medical College has been identified to be the first of these series of the centres of excellence to be followed by more such centres in other parts of the country, including Larkana, Nawabshah and Sukkur.

Dr Asif Aslam, programme officer, UNICEF, said AIDS is not only a disease or a issue, but also an awareness challenge. “Ironically, those suffering from this disease, are suffering from a lack of consciousness about safety measures and about its lethal aspects.”

“The most striking feature about the problem is that no country or society is immune from its effects. Fortunately, in Pakistan it stands at a low scale. However, we must not relax our efforts to combat the disease with stubborn approach,” he pointed out.

He said Acquired-Immune Deficiency Syndrome in Pakistan was growing at an alarming pace and there were fears that if no precautionary steps were taken in the next ten years the situation might aggravate. “The most prone segment of the society, which may fall prey to the diseases, will be women, children and youths under 25 years of age,” he added.

Shaukat Ali of the Pakistan AIDS Prevention Society said poverty, illiteracy and other factors were fuelling the gravity of the situation.—APP/PPI