Anita Mishra (name changed), a 27-year-old resident of Nagpur married a 30-year-old IT professional Ramesh Mishtra (name changed) last year and settled down in Thane. The couple had settled in perfectly until a blood test report changed their lives forever.
From the beginning of 2015, Ramesh started to fall ill continually and his condition started deteriorating. “He became very feeble and hardly could walk. So, I took him to a private hospital for checkup. Even after treatment when his condition didn’t improve, the doctor asked to get certain tests conducted on his blood. After two days when we received the report, we were shocked to find out that he was HIV positive,” said Anita talking to The Asian Age.
In 2013, Ramesh had met with a car accident in Nagpur, his hometown and was transfused blood while getting operated upon. Apparently, the blood in one of the bottles was infected with HIV that affected not only Ramesh but Anita as well. “As HIV infection can be passed through sex, it has passed on to me. Had I done a blood test before marriage, I could have saved myself from the infection,” said Anita. Now, the couple runs an NGO for HIV infected people in Thane.
Like Anita, many unsuspecting people get infected by HIV unknowingly after having sexual intercourse with their infected partner after marriage. This occurs as none of the couples opt for the tests before marriage.
Dr Sagar Mundada, president of MARD central said, “Couples should focus more on testing their blood than matching their kundalis (horoscopes). These small steps can help in avoiding disastrous consequences and undergoing testing should be a thing everybody feels comfortable with rather than feel embarrassed about it.”
In an attempt to take the message forward, MARD launched its HIV awareness campaign “HIV testing is primary, kundali matching is secondary” ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1.
“Most of the patients are in the age group of 17 to 25 years so it is essential to provide proper education and awareness. Hence, all the patients in the same age group will be imparted sex education the entire week,” said Dr Mundada.
Also, it will focus on clearing incorrect perceptions among patients. “It is not HIV per se but secondary infections that cause deaths. So, if patients take medication regularly, their immunity will be good and infections can be delayed. It is also important to inform people that those who claim to have been cured from AIDS are just quacks and they shouldn’t fall prey to such fake promises,” the doctor added.
