Udupi: Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Priyanka Mary Francis said efforts should be made to bring HIV-infected persons to the mainstream of the society.

Speaking at the World AIDS Day programme organised here on Tuesday, she said it is heartening to see that number of HIV-infected people in the district has been decreasing year after year. But reality should also be taken into consideration as there are possibilities that the HIV-infected people are moving away from being identified as HIV-infected fearing social stigma.

Persons who are infected with HIV would not accept it. Even the educated society hesitates to discuss the HIV infection, she said.

Priyanka said India has nearly 20 lakh HIV-infected patients and 50% of AIDS-related deaths in Asia are reported in the country. Karnataka is one among the five states with most highest number of HIV-infected people. Udupi district is vulnerable to target population owing to the influx of migrant workers as well as the presence of transgenders, she observed.

Under the District Health Society, the orphans and HIV infected children are being provided eggs three days a week. Out of total 50 identified children, 20 have already been receiving eggs. The facility would also be extended to other infected children, she said.

Speaking after inaugurating the programme, Zilla Panchayat president Dinaker Babu said the awareness on HIV infection should be taken up on large-scale for a healthy society.

District Heath Officer Dr Rohini said the district has 4,925 registered pre-ART (antiretroviral therapy) patients in the district out of the total 5,220 who were tested for HIV. Among them, 4,659 are adults, 256 are children and 10 are transgenders, she said.

She said the district has 80 counseling centres and two ART centers in the District Government Hospital and Kundapur taluk Government Hospital. The Link ART centers are at Byndoor, Brahmavar and Hebri.

Support and care has been extended to 249 children and they are provided nutritional food and education. As many as 20 Yakshagana shows have been staged to create awareness on the ill-effects of HIV infection, she said.