HIV infection going down among Army

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the armed forces is going down with growing awareness about the dreaded disease.

"Apart from continuous awareness campaigns, soldiers are being granted leave to meet their families and friends to keep them away from the dreaded virus," Army's Eastern Command spokesman Captain RK Das told PTI.

The infection rate has been going down since 2004. From 144 personnel suffering from AIDS in 2004, the figure dropped to 35 in 2006.

Figures for last year and this year would be available later, Das said.
According to Das, the bulk of sufferers were in the Army and low level personnel from the Navy and Air Force.

The Army had the largest number of AIDS afflicted at 132 in 2004 and 30 in 2006. Eight Navy and four Air Force personnel were infected with the virus in 2004 with the number dropping to 2 and 3 respectively in 2006.

The forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Manipur were the most vulnerable as the prevalence of the disease in the interior villages was high, Das said.

Regular counseling by doctors has, however, led the situation to improve, he said.