Source: Hueiyen News Service / Agency
Guwahati, November 30 2009:
Assam has become vulnerable to AIDS because of the expanding sex-network in the state, a top health department official said here today.
Migrants from Nepal, West Bengal and some north eastern states are often forced to join the flesh trade...Unsafe sex by truck drivers, migrant workers, tourists, refugees settled in relief camps and a section of security personnel have exposed the state to AIDS, health secretary V S Bhaskar told reporters.
Inflow of drug addicted students from neighbouring states was another reason for the spread of the disease, he said.
Till November one, Assam has 991 AIDS cases and 3,835 HIV carriers, but the situation might deteriorate if proper action is not taken immediately, Bhaskar said.
Of the 991 AIDS patients, 248 are women, 15 homosexuals and 40 drug addicts, he said.