Trichy: Incidence of people tested positive for HIV has witnessed a major change in Trichy. Going by the Data of District Aids Prevention and Control Unit (DAPCU), of late, there has been an increase in cases between the age group of 40 to 49 years. Experts say the major reason for the change in trend in the viral disease is due to extramarital affairs.District Program Manager (DPM) of DAPCU, Trichy Dr SM Manivannan says, "The trend has changed after 2011. Analysis shows that the trend is a consequence of illicit affairs among married people. But on the whole, the prevalence of HIV-AIDS is declining."Earlier, the incidence was prevalent among people in the age group of 30 to 39 years, due to the unawareness of the high risk behavior groups - Female Sex Workers (FSW), Men Sex with Men (MSM) and transgender (TG). "HIV positive was high among the risk behavior groups, but after 2011 the trend declined and common people too have been tested positive," said Dr Manivannan.Stating that the number of infected people is under control in Trichy district, the DPM said that currently 5,500 people were on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) treatment here. The number included FSW, MSM, TG and normal people.Few years ago, there was a panic among HIV-infected people that the viral infection was the end of their life. Now, doctors term it as a chronically manageable disease. "If a patient is regularly on ART, the life expectancy of the patient will not decrease," said Dr R Sharmila at ART Centre inside Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH). ART is a tablet which was prescribed to those who had CD4 count below 300. However, the tablet has been made available to all infected people irrespective of their CD4 count."The regular follow-up on patients and intake of ART tablet increases the longevity of the patients. If anyone was missing out on treatment, the Target Intervention (TI)-NGOs will keep track of them and bring them back on track for treatment," he said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Trichy headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.