AIDS scare - Victims seem to be everywhere
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070308/edit.htm#3

A FAIR is not the place where people go to get themselves checked for
the HIV virus. Those who walked into the AIDS examination centre at
Anandpur Sahib during the Hola Mohalla festivities apparently did so
for a lark. Imagine the shock of the personnel belonging to the
Punjab State AIDS Control Society manning the camp when they found
that out of about 100 persons who visited them, as many as five were
HIV positive. The sense of surprise they felt must have been
overshadowed only by that of the victims themselves. Among them was a
young couple. The husband was a truck driver who probably introduced
the infection to his wife, the mother of a child. If so many HIV-
positive people can be found at just one fair in one day, just
imagine the number of people roaming all over Punjab, blissfully
unaware that they have contracted the dreaded virus! They are not
only putting their own life on the block but also that of many
others, including their family members.

Despite tall claims, the fight against the dreaded disease is not
quite as efficient as it ought to be. Most people are still not aware
of the gravity of the situation. Due to the stigma attached to it,
even those who should get themselves tested refuse to do so. They
carry it along the length and breadth of the state 0151 nay, the
country. India is fast becoming the AIDS capital of Asia.

The most vulnerable are truck drivers and drug addicts. Yet, the
services of sex workers along the highways are very much available
and the drugs are still injected through shared needles. Equally
worrisome is the increased incidence of HIV-AIDS in adolescents. The
ostrich-like approach has already played havoc. It is necessary to
open more and more channels where all sections can discuss sexuality-
related topics freely. Equally vital is adequate funding, access to
treatment, peer education and support system.