World AIDS day observed at Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh December 4: To observe World AIDS Day, Department of Community Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University organized an awareness programme with poster presentation and awareness talks at its Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC), Jawan.

Addressing the local populace, Dr Pawan Patrick (Junior Resident) informed about signs and symptoms of AIDS and underlined the ways to keep safe from contacting the deadly disease. He said if the signs showed like unexplained loss of weight, persistent diarrhoea, lymph node enlargement, the concerned person should contact a health centre get the testing done. He said that counselling facility was available at ICTC and free treatment at the ART centre.

Dr Shivangi highlighted the preventive measures and emphasised the need to keep away from unsafe blood transfusion, unprotected sex practices, needle stick injury, reuse of syringes and blades and preventing mother to child transmission of HIV.

Dr Tabassum Nawab discussed the issue of social stigma associated with the disease and emphasised how family and community support was important for the patient.

Dr Uzma Eram (Incharge, RHTC) was also present on the occasion.

Later, a joint event by the Department of Community Medicine and ART Centre, JN Medical College, AMU was held at ART Centre where Prof Anees Ahmad, Chairman of the Department highlighted the contribution of ART Centre in controlling the HIV epidemic. He urged the concerned medical practitioners to keep making efforts to curb the spread of the disease and help the patients to get the best possible cure.