Why the cops shouldn't worry about Pujari's aide

Last week police officers were afraid to go near one of gangster Ravi Pujari's aides, as he had tested positive for HIV. Here's what the cops and the rest of us need to know about AIDS and the hiv virus

Despite millions of dollars being spent worldwide on the awareness of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there continues to be a shadow around one of the world's deadliest diseases, today.
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS data, in 2008, there were 33.4 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS.



AIDS is a medical condition that occurs when the body's immunity is too low to fight off any infections it might be attacked with.

HIV attacks the cells of the immune system, and as the cells get destroyed the patient gets progressively weaker.

But, it is only at a very advanced stage of HIV that a person is said to have AIDS, and it can be years before the virus develops into full-blown AIDS.

Kaposi's Sarcoma

The first reported case was in 1981 when a US-based newspaper reported an outbreak of a rare form of cancer among gay men identified as Kaposi's Sarcoma.
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Around the same time there were also reports of Pneumocystis a kind of lung infection detected among gay men in New York and California.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in USA, initially termed the condition GRID (Gay-related Immune Deficiency), which falsely propagated the idea of the gay community as sole carriers of the deadly disease.u00a0

However, as cases began trickling in from various parts of the world and across various demographics heterosexuals, drug addicts, and people who had received blood transfusions with similar symptoms, the term AIDS was coined, in 1982.

The first HIV cases in India were reported in 1986, among female sex workers living in Chennai. By 1987, there were around 135 HIV positive cases in the country, and of these 14 had already progressed to AIDS.
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In the most recent statistics tabled in 2008, by the Indian government's NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation), there are roughly 2.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in India.

Experts bust 7 Myths on AIDS and HIV

HIV/AIDS is a death sentence

Not true. According to Ivonne Camaroni, UNICEF India Country Office, "The reason for this is that today there is an efficacious treatment for people with HIV and this can prolong, as well as improve the quality of life."

HIV is thus a chronic disease as opposed to a certified death sentence.

AIDS and the hiv virus are the same thing

Not true. Sex consultant Dr Rajiv Anand explains that while HIV (Human Immune-deficiency) is the virus, AIDS (Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome) is the disease.
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"The virus is a 'human' virusu00a0it does not survive in animals or mosquitoes. It is very fragile outside the human body and dies on contact with air.

HIV attacks the body's defense system (the immune system), and makes it difficult for the body to fight off infection and disease."

He adds, "Because the immune system is damaged, certain infections get easy access to spread and grow.
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These infections are called opportunistic infections. One definition can be a person who has two or more of the 28 opportunistic diseases.
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AIDS is the terminal stage of infection of HIV. In the early stages of HIV, persons look and feel healthy. It is only when the immune system gets impaired do they start falling ill.
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The time between getting infected with HIV and becoming ill with AIDS, may range from two to 10 years or even longer."

You cannot get HIV through one sexual encounter

Not true. Unsafe sex can transmit the HIV virus even after just one sexual encounter. "You can get HIV from any sexual encounter if sexual intercourse is 'unsafe'."