HIV in India
It is currently estimated that India has anything between 2.5 and 6 million HIV sufferers. The virus is not only passed on by sexual contact as a high proportion of drug users are HIV positive through sharing needles.
The dangers of unprotected sex is frequently ignored despite the fact that half the Indian sex workers are HIV positive. In fact, many continue to work until they are too ill to attract clients. Unprotected sex ensures that thousands of unsuspecting HIV couples have children and so pass on the virus to the next generation.
Truck drivers are away from their family for many weeks at a time which often brings them into contact with sex workers. The truck drivers carry new strains of the virus to new regions and even countries. Indeed, one strain of the disease which was originally detected in south India was found again in northern China.
Although many organisations are working very hard on prevention and detection, the fact that only half of those currently infected by HIV are aware of their status underlines just how much work still has to be done to combat the virus.