Lok Sabha Question No. 2199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-11
Subject: HIV Transmission
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2199 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH DECEMBER, 2015

## HIV TRANSMISSION

## 2199. DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE: SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether cases of HIV transmission due to Drug abuse and addiction are on the rise in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the corrective measures taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard;

(c) whether the Government has taken note of risk of HIV infections due to blades, razors and needles being used on multiple clients without being sterilized in many saloons and tattoo centres across the country; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the corrective measures being taken by the Government to stop the practice and spread awareness in this regard?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI SHRIPAD YESSO NAIK )

(a): HIV transmission amongst the Injecting Drug User (IDU) is one of the highest among the  high  risk  groups , which also include  sex  workers , men  having  sex  with  men and transgenders.  As  per  the  HIV  Sentinel  Surveillance  (HSS),  HIV  prevalence  among Injecting Drug  Users  (IDUs)  in  India  was  7.23%  in  2007,  9.19%  in  2008 - 09  and  7.14  %  in  2010 - 11 respectively. The results of the latest Survey are under finalisation.

(b): The State wise prevalence of HIV among IDUs is at Annexure.

For  prevention  of transmission  of  HIV  amongst  Injecting  Drug  Users  (IDU),  harm reduction is the strategy that has been adopted . The strategy includes reaching out to the IDUs through their peers and promoting counseling, providing clean needle s  and  s yringe s,  c ondom distrib ution, and treatment of a bscess and Sexually Transmitted infections (STI).  IDUs are als referred for testing ,and if found positive arelink ed to Anti - retroviral Treatment Centres (ART) for further treatment. Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) is another component under theharm reduction strategy which includes medically administered service of Buprenorphine whereinthe medicine is given sublingually to wean off the effect of drug s.

( c)& ( d) : Yes. Multimedia campaigns are planned and implemented for cr eating awareness on HIV transmission modes , including transmission through unsafe use of blades and razors, e . The campaigns through mass media supported by interpersonal communications, outdoor, mi media, IEC Material and exhibition are implemented at national and state levels.

## State - wise HIV prevalence (%) among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in 2010-11

| State             | HIV prevalence (%)   |
|-------------------|----------------------|
| A & N Islands     | -                    |
| Andhra Pradesh    | 3.05                 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 0.24                 |
| Assam             | 1.46                 |
| Bihar             | 4.54                 |
| Chandigarh        | 7.2                  |
| Chhattisgarh      | 0.42                 |
| D &NHaveli        | -                    |
| Daman &Diu        | -                    |
| Delhi             | 18.27                |
| Goa               | -                    |
| Gujarat           | 1.6                  |
| Haryana           | 0.8                  |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 4.89                 |
| Jammu &Kashmir    | 0                    |
| Jharkhand         | 2.02                 |
| Karnataka         | 0                    |
| Kerala            | 4.95                 |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 5.13                 |
| Maharastra        | 14.17                |
| Manipur           | 12.89                |
| Meghalaya         | 6.44                 |
| Mizoram           | 12.01                |
| Nagaland          | 2.21                 |
| Odisha            | 7.16                 |
| Puducherry        | -                    |
| Punjab            | 21.1                 |
| Rajasthan         | -                    |
| Sikkim            | 0                    |
| Tamil Nadu        | -                    |
| Tripura           | 0.45                 |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 2.03                 |
| Uttarakhand       | 4.33                 |
| West Bengal       | 2.72                 |
| India             | 7.14                 |

Note: Source:HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) 2010 - 11; In the States which is blank including Lakshadweep has either no IDU sites or 75% of the valid sample were not received.