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AIDS crisis in Pakistan
Syeda Samra Iqbal Jaferi, Muhammad Ilyas and Muhammad Idrees
Center of
Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab,
Lahore Pakistan
*Corresponding
author. E-mail:
idreeskhan96@yahoo.com,
milyaskh@hotmail.com.
Tel:
+92-300-5740568.
Accepted 11 September, 2009. |
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The estimated
number of HIV patients in Pakistan is ~80,000 that is about
0.1% of the adult population of the country. Although the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS seems to be low but still the country
is at high risk as
the
potential for a widespread epidemic is high due to
contamination risk factors common in this country like other
countries with high HIV prevalence. These risk factors
include, low literacy, poverty, high fertility, low
contraception uptake and poor access to health and
education. This current review establishes the presence of
HIV among all four provinces of Pakistan and further
necessitates detailed behavioral study for risk assessment
in subpopulation. The society in general needs to debate the
issues through conferences, seminars, workshops and media
for enhancing awareness.
Key words:
AIDS, precautions, awareness, Pakistan. |
