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English Release 20-May 2013
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- Prime Minister's Office
- Media Statement by Prime Minister during the State Visit of Chinese Premier H.E. Li Keqiang to India
- Min of Civil Aviation
- Civil Aviation Minister Takes Action Against Erring Officers
- Min of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
- National Consumer Helpline Records 12,590 Calls in April, 2013
- Min of Corporate Affairs
- Competition Commission to play an important role as a regulator of Competition and as a participant in the competitive process – Finance Minister P Chidambaram
- Min of Defence
- NCC Cadets
Scaled Mount Everest
- Min of Earth Science
- LS Rathore Elected as Member of Executive Council of WMO
- Ministry of Finance
- Text of The Inaugural Address Delivered by The Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram on The Annual Day of The Competition Commission of India
- Auction Sale of Govt. Stock
- Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) Books A Case Against M/S Bhushan Steels Ltd for Evasion of Central Excise Duty of about Rs. 24 Crore
- Min of Health and Family Welfare
- Sixty-sixth Session of the World Health Assembly begins in Geneva today:
India contributes additional fifty-thousand US dollars to the WHO
- India and United Kingdom Sign MOU on cooperation in Health sector
- Min of Home Affairs
- Anti-Terrorism Day to be Observed on 21st May
- Min of Labour & Employment
- All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural And Rural Labourers on Base 1986-87=100 –April, 2013
- Min of Law & Justice
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Additional Judges Appointed to the Gauhati High Court
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Appointment of Judges in the High Court of
Madhya Pradesh
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Chief Justice for the High Court of Andhra Pradesh Appointed
- Min of New and Renewable Energy
- Revision of Guidelines For JNNSM
- Min of Petroleum & Natural Gas
- International crude oil price of Indian Basket Moves up
to 101.96/US$ bbl on 17.5.2013
- Min of Power
- Transmission of Surplus Power to Power Deficit States
- Ministry of Railways
- Commodity-Wise Freight Traffic Earnings by Railways During April 2013
- Min of Road Transport & Highways
- 2nd Meeting of Expert Group to Finalize Saarc Motor Vehicles Agreement Gets Underway
Positive Response to Followup Initiative to Thimpu Declaration-Dr. Cp Joshi
- Ministry of Tourism
- Chiranjeevi Offers wide Opportunities to Foreign film Producers in India
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare14-December, 2007 17:7 IST
| HIV Counselling and testing under the National AIDS Control Programme |
Dr Kunal Saha, contracted by the World Bank as a member of the team for review of World Bank aided health programmes, including the National AIDS Control Programme Phase II, during the period 1999 to 2006 has been making accusations regarding the use of substandard kits in the National AIDS Control Programme in India. This has been reported by some newspapers also. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) strongly refutes these allegations, as the conclusions drawn by him are not based on scientific facts.
The HIV rapid test kits were not used in any blood bank as mentioned by him. He has cited 10 instances as being erroneous where the first test proved positive. However, neither the second or third test provided a positive result. He has alleged that the kit used for the second test is not of quality. However, NACO confirms that the kit used for the second test in question is a pre-qualified World Health Organisation (WHO) kit. The obvious interpretation of the results is that the algorithm worked properly in eliminating false positives.
The documents cited by Dr Saha have been reviewed by Dr Robert Martin, associate Director, Coordinating Centre for Health and Information Services, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, USA who is also of the view that there is no evidence of use of poor quality HIV test kits in India and his allegations have no basis.
Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) have been established under the National AIDS Control Programme to provide relevant information and test individuals for HIV infection. There are at present more than 4310 ICTCs in the country in medical colleges, district hospitals and community health centres. The number of individuals tested has increased from 1.8 million in 2004 to over 5.5 million in 2007. The testing is done by using rapid test kits of high sensitivity and specificity. If a positive test is detected, the serum sample is tested again with two other kits using different principles to rule out false positive results. A positive report is given only if all three tests are positive. The testing is in accordance with international guidelines of the WHO and UNAIDS.
Blood banks normally use Eliza kits, except in exceptional cases when rapid test kits are used. The blood is discarded if the first test is positive. The concerned individual is also advised to visit the ICTC for counselling and testing.
The kits for the first test are procured by National AIDS Control Organisation and kits for the confirmatory tests by the concerned State AIDS Control Societies. The procurement is done following the laid down government guidelines. Dr. Saha has no credible evidence to support his accusation of use of sub-standard kits in India.
KR/SK/NACO - 197
(Release ID :34037)
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