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Table 1
Migration Profiles of AIDS Cases at SSH,
Varanasi
Status Cases (n=120) Controls
(n=120)
Migrants 75 (62.5%) 5 (4.2%)
NM Tr. Drivers 10 (8.3%) 14 (11.6%)
NM Males 17 (14.2%) 83 (69.2%)
NM Females 18 (15%)* 18 (15%)
*12 were wives of migrants and 6 were wives of truck drivers
(Goyal, M.K. et al., 2002)
(Goyal, 2002) to 25.6 percent among (41 out of 160 cases) in 2003 (Pandey, 2003).
Further, while 33.9 percent of the spouses were positive for HIV in 2002, this
proportion has increased to 61.5 percent in 2003, signifying increasing transmission
to the spouses with the passage of time.
What Are the Behaviours that Facilitate
Transmission?
In the series mentioned above, over 90 percent of the cases
reported heterosexual transmission as the cause. There were,
however, two cases of MSM, two cases of injecting drug use
(IDU), and three cases who reported blood transfusion and
no other risky behaviour. This is nearly similar to the
reported modes of transmission by NACO and highlights
the possibility of existence of other modes of transmission in
the state. In the first series, the youngest children of 16
AIDS cases were also tested and five (30.1%) were found to
be positive. Though it is a small number for assessing the size, it establishes the
presence of perinatal transmission in the state.
How Big is Migration and Mobility in UP?
An analysis of 1991 census data on immigration to Maharashtra, undertaken by the
National Institute of Epidemiology, revealed that there were 16 lakh immigrants in
Maharashtra, with over a quarter (26.9%) of them coming from UP. In a pilot
survey of migration in five rural districts of Eastern UP (Mishra, 2003), there were
445 long-term male migrants in 1,191 families surveyed, and half of them migrated
to areas currently labeled as high-prevalence states. About 63 percent of them were
living alone at the place of migration (Table 2).
With 4,307 km of highways, UP has the second longest national highway network
in India. Being midway between Calcutta and Delhi, truckers travelling through the
state invariably halt in one place or the other. The volume of truckers in UP—both
from within the state and traversing through it—indicates high transmission in the
region unless effective preventive action is put in place.
Table 2
Migration in Eastern UP
Families surveyed 1,191
No. of families with male migrants 359
No. of male migrants 488
No. of long-term migrants
Migrated sans spouse/unmarried
To high-prevalence states/
epidemic areas
Factory workers/labourers/
skilled workers/drivers/p. business
445 (91.2% of male migrants)
279 (62.7% of long-term migrants)
216 (48.5% of long-term migrants)
267 (60% of long-term migrants)
Can Transmission Be Sustained
Within the State?
It is frequently argued that most of the
HIV infections in the state are
imported, and that internal
transmission, if any, is confined to the
spouses of migrants. The data cited
above amply demonstrate the existence
of local transmission. Another way of
examining this issue is to assess both
risk groups who can harbour the virus
and bridge populations who can
effectively transmit it to low-risk
Prevention of
HIV/AIDS in Uttar Pradesh