eTender of RSBY in seven districts of West Bengal issued today.

eTender issued today for Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling (GTA and Siliguri), North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas for fresh bidding.

Parents must know about PPTCT regimen of HIV screening to protect new born health

National Rural Health Mission and RCH programmes created adequate awareness on mother and child health care in our country in the 11th five year plan and no doubt people are aware about need for three ANCs to pregnant mothers, safe delivery protocols and post delivery health care of new born and mother.

 

How many of the parents are aware about PPTCT? It is Prevention of Parents to Child Transmission of HIV.

 

As per National Family Survey round 3, prevalence rate of HIV among women in reproductive age group is 0.22 per cent in India and that among men is 0.28 per cent. Transmission of HIV is through blood transfusion, sexual contacts and fluid transfusion from infected person to partners. Are people aware that transmission of HIV from parents to child can happen during pregnancy, at the time of delivery and even during breastfeeding period up to six months of birth? Innocent child can be affected.

 

Screening of all pregnant mothers for HIV at the time of Ante Natal Check up (ANC) has been made mandatory so as to detect the HIV prevalence in time and provide Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) to mother. Unfortunately, awareness level of parents is not adequate as result of which rate of HIV screening during ANC is not more than one third at present.

 

There is need to sensitise all the parents that HIV screening at the time of ANC is very easy process now, using single finger prick blood test kits at the Sub Centres/ ANC centres and costs nothing. If mother is detected positive, which is only 0.2 to 0.3 per cent prevalence among pregnant women. The treatment of ART, nape ravine at the time of labour, to new born within 48 hours and regular ART for six months can ensure new born safe from HIV infection.

 

Unfortunately, a large number of children below age 10 are detected HIV reactive only because of faults of their parents that they were born HIV reactive by positive parents. HIV screening at the time of ANC and following PPTCT regimen could have saved the child from HIV infection.

 

This is high time to make parents/ couple aware that HIV screening during pregnancy is necessity to protect the child's health.