Have 7,000 Karnataka students tested positive for HIV? Here's the truth
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Reports claimed that 7000 students in Karnataka had tested HIV positive. But KSAPS has debunked it.
Reports emerged a few days ago that 7,000 students were diagnosed with HIV in Karnataka. However, the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society has clarified that this is not true and has urged a correction in the reports to prevent misinformation.
Two days ago, reports emerged that nearly 7,000 college students in Karnataka have been diagnosed with HIV. They attributed the figures to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), saying that they were young people aged between 18 and 25. However, the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) has refuted the claim, calling the reports wrong.
The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) has urged media organisations to publish the clarification. It said that the reports stemmed from a faulty interpretation of official data. It also labelled reports stating HIV testing has been made compulsory in colleges as "false and misleading."
The Karnataka government has directed all government-aided and private engineering and degree colleges to organise Integrated Health Camps (IHCs) for HIV testing, screening and counselling. The decision was reportedly based on recommendations by KSAPS. Project Director Padma Basavanthappa has meanwhile said that data on HIV positive cases is not categorised into housewives, students, etc. There are no statistics that say 7,000 students have been infected by the disease.
She added that around 39,000 people in the 18-35 age group have tested HIV-positive cumulatively since 2004. She strictly clarified that the figure of 7,000 students being circulated is factually incorrect. Basavanthappa said separately that the actual number among college-going students is one or two cases.
HIV cases in Karnataka
Awareness and counselling camps will be hosted at colleges, but all testing is voluntary. Under the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017, no person can be compelled to take an HIV test. Notably, Karnataka has the third-highest HIV caseload in India, according to NACO. Nearly 2.6 lakh people are reported to be infected, while an estimated 54,000 remain undiagnosed.
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HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that causes AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, at least 44.2 million people have so far died from it.
