The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Epidemiology have conducted several studies in States and Union territories. India continues to carry a substantial burden, with an estimated 25.44 lakh people living with HIV in 2023. The study in the five South Indian States accounted for approximately 6.35 lakh PLHIV. Specifically, Karnataka counts 2.80 lakh, Tamil Nadu 1.69 lakh, and Telangana is 1.58 lakh and together constitute nearly 24 per cent of the National HIV burden. Among the districts with high PLHIV burden, 54 were from Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. In 2023, an estimated 68.45 thousand new HIV Infections occurred in India.
According to the studies, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu contributed to 11.5 per cent of the annual new infections, with seven districts in Karnataka and Telangana. Regarding the elimination of Vertical Transmission of HIV, an estimated 19.96 thousand pregnant women required related services across India in 2023. Seventeen districts in Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Telangana recorded higher service needs for EVTH interventions.
The 2023 district-level HIV estimation identified 54 high-priority districts across the five South Indian States and Union territories, which together accounted for 77 per cent of the total PLHIV, 43 per cent of annual new infections and 65 per cent of the total need for EVTH-related services in the region. These findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen existing prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies and to focus efforts in the most at-risk areas to accelerate progress toward the goal of ending AIDS by 2030.
ICMR, in another research study on the Model for Integrated Influenza Surveillance project in Tamil Nadu, broadly aims to develop a model of strengthened disease surveillance. The SARS-CoV-2 surveillance has been set up at Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Thiruvarur districts in Tamil Nadu and integrates with the existing Pan India Epidemiological, Virological and genomic surveillance for human influenza and COVID-19. It is also to strengthen hospital-based surveillance and also to identify the gaps and strengthen the process. The highlight is to strengthen the capacity of the surveillance system to detect and respond to outbreaks of influenza and SARI. The project also has a future perspective to increase testing of nine other respiratory viruses besides influenza and SARS-CoV-2 for all age groups, conduct situation analysis at the State Surveillance Unit and Stakeholder interviews. Epidemiological data analysis training is given to at least one stakeholder from the district surveillance unit from all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu.
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