( An HIV certificate is a must before mar...)Majority of Keralites Vote in Favor of HIV Certificate Before Marriage,Health

An HIV certificate is a must before marriage, say an overwhelming 91 percent in an SMS survey in Kerala, which has over 70,000 HIV positive cases.//

The survey, conducted by manoramaonline/yuva, saw 22,578 people taking part. Of this, 20,546 people said an HIV certificate was a must before marriage. Just 2,032 said that such a certificate was not a necessity. The survey results have just been published.

According to the Kerala State AIDS Control Society, the state has over 70,000 HIV positive cases.

HIV and marriage are two dimensions, maintains S.K. Hari, team leader of the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, a project support unit of the AIDS control society.

"Being HIV positive does not mean that one is not eligible for marriage. And being HIV negative prior to marriage does not necessarily mean that it will be negative for the rest of life," Hari told IANS.

State Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy said that this was the point that needed to be discussed in society.

"Just through a law this cannot be made compulsory," the minister said.

Reacting to the survey, public health expert C.R. Soman said the idea of a HIV certificate was ridiculous. "HIV is not the most important public health problem in Kerala, and is therefore not a priority. Surveys show that Kerala is a low HIV prevalence state."

"In ante-natal women, HIV prevalence is as low as 0.3 percent. There is no evidence of increasing HIV prevalence in the state. Moreover, a mere 2.5 percent of those having sexually transmitted disease are HIV positive in Kerala, unlike in other states."

According to Soman, over the last two decades since the first AIDS case was reported in the country, things have not worsened in Kerala as far as HIV was concerned.

"There are more public health problems that need to be addressed than HIV," said Soman. "Currently there are 4.5 million people sufferi
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Majority Of Women Satisfied With Decision To Have Preventive Mastectomy
2. Majority Of Americans Deny That They Are Overweight
3. Majority of Middle Aged People Suffer from - High BP, High Sugar, Pot Belly
4. Majority Of People In US Seek Essential Changes In Health Care System
5. Majority Chinese Men Lack Testosterone: Report
6. Majority Of The Flu Vaccine Supply Received
7. Majority Of Doctors Tend To Ignore Milk Allergy Cases In Babies
8. Majority of Padma Awards Go to Doctors from Delhi
9. Harassment in School Affects Majority of Elementary Students
10. Keralites Have a Weak Heart: Cardiologist
11. Malayali Nurses - Lifeline of Keralites Abroad