HIV/AIDS in India: an overview of the Indian epidemic

Abstract

The first cases of HIV infection in India were detected in 1986 among female sex workers in Chennai. A rapid increase followed in many states. The current national prevalence is about 0.26% compared with a global average of 0.2%, but the figure in most high‐risk groups including female sex workers is much higher (up to 7%). New HIV infections reached a peak in 1998 and have since declined by 60%, although the total number of HIV‐positive persons remains stable at 2.1 million, largely probably due to the increased life expectancy following antiretroviral therapy. The Indian epidemic is characterized by low levels in the general population and elevated concentrations among high‐risk groups. Transmission is mainly heterosexually driven, with differential burdens across the states. The four main drivers of HIV infection in India differ in order from those elsewhere in the world and are commercial sex work, general heterosexual intercourse, injecting drug use and unprotected anal sex between men who have sex with men. There are distinct differences from state to state in the prevalence of HIV, with some around the national norm of 0.21% but others with over 1% infected. India has embarked on a targeted HIV prevention strategy in recent years which is strongly associated with a fall in infection rate in both low‐ and high‐risk groups.

Burden of hepatitis C virus infection in India: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The HIV epidemic in India is related mostly to heterosexual exposure, which is inefficient for transmission of HCV, and not to injection drug use, which is very efficient. However, it may be argued that the data available in this group were somewhat skewed by non‐availability of data from states, such as Nagaland and Mizoram, with higher HIV and PWID rates. It would thus be useful to undertake further studies in persons with HIV infection in geographically diverse locations.…”

“…The pooled prevalence rate among persons with HIV infection was 3.51% (95% CI: 2.43-4.76%), which is comparable with those in such persons in other developing countries, although lower than in developed countries. 40 The HIV epidemic in India is related mostly to heterosexual exposure, 41 which is inefficient for transmission of HCV, and not to injection drug use, which is very efficient. However, it may be argued that the data available in this group were somewhat skewed by non-availability of data from states, such as Nagaland and Mizoram, with higher HIV 42 and PWID 41 rates.…”

Clinical Spectrum and Treatment Outcomes of HIV Associated Cancers in a Tertiary Care Centre

“…The estimated prevalence of HIV infection in the age group 15-49 years in India is 0.26% according to the 2015 NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) report. [1] Patients with HIV infection are prone to develop malignancies, 2 especially viral mediated cancers like Kaposi sarcoma (related to HHV-8), invasive cervical cancers (HPV related) and aggressive B cell lymphomas (often EBV related) due to the loss of immune surveillance. Cancers are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV infection accounting for nearly 36% of the deaths in PLWHA (People Living with HIV-AIDS).…”

HIV/AIDS in women and children in India

“…International workshops such as the World Workshop for HIV/AIDS held in Hyderabad, India, in 2015 bring together experts from around the world to identify and prioritize research, clinical and social HIV-related issues (Tappuni and Shiboski, 2016) and increase awareness of the specific challenges that HIV is presenting in India (Paranjape and Challacombe, 2016).…”