Ramola S, Anand R, Ramaiah KA, Ramesh Babu R, Satish Babu P, Madhuri P; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).

Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. TuPeD4985.

Women's Health Care Project, Nellore, India

Issue: The impact of environmental heath factors like water and air pollution, newly emerging and re-emerging infections, vector borne diseases and lack of access to health care on PLW HIV/AIDS has decreased the life span; thereby the incubation period of them in India has decreased to 2-5 years. Description: "Women's Health Care Project" (CBO), has been taking care of more than 1301 HIV/AIDS positives in the region since 1991. We have been observing that the life span of PLWHA has been drastically reduced to below 5 years owing to physical environmental and health factors like lack of access to clean drinking water, hygiene and sanitation and also newly emerging, re-emerging and drug resistant diseases, infections and vector borne diseases. And the impact of industrial and agro-chemical pollution is also important. We have been educating the affected persons about the role of these factors in respect of their health and training them to use boiled or clean water for drinking and adopt measures to protect them from vector borne and water borne infections as well as other pollution problems. Lessons learned: We have observed that 70-85% positives were below the poverty line. They are dying even before 5 years of incubation period owing to environmental health factors. Most of them are labourers living in slum areas. These factors have been increasing the risk of opportunistic, vector borne and water borne infections, thereby worsening the situation. Out of 1301 cases 53% positives died even before 5 years of incubation period. Recommendations: PLW HIV/AIDS in developing countries like India are at the highest risk, often bearing the double burden of traditional and environmental risks associated with poverty and population density, and the modern environmental hazards of growing industrialization with weak regulations. Hence, there is a dire need for more programmes to educate, train and protect them from environmental health hazards.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• AIDS Vaccines
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Demography
• Developing Countries
• Environment
• Environmental Health
• Environmental Pollution
• Female
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Hazardous Substances
• Health
• Humans
• India
• Poverty

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0038579

UI: 102282795

From Meeting Abstracts