01-07-2004, 10:05 PM
<b>Hundreds of Mumbai police personnel test positive for HIV</b>
Agence France-Presse
Mumbai, January 7
Hundreds of policemen in Mumbai tested positive for HIV in recent health examinations, prompting the police department to launch an AIDS awareness drive, an official said Wednesday.
<b>"Around 450 policemen have tested positive for HIV," </b>Prem Kishan Jain, joint police commissioner for administration, told AFP.
The figure is initial, with medical data not yet compiled for much of Bombay's 40,000-strong police force.
"A comprehensive campaign has been launched and we are educating police officials about AIDS," Jain said.
Jain said the department was studying how the police were infected.
However, it is an open secret in Bombay that police are among the major patrons of sex workers.
Jain said most of the policemen who tested positive for HIV were low-level constables who were not well-educated.
<b>India officially has at least 4.58 million people with HIV/AIDS</b>, second only to South Africa with five million. A US study last year said HIV cases would skyrocket if the government did not move aggressively promote safe sex.
<b>Bombay policemen are known for their long working hours, high stress levels and poor pay.</b>
<b>Police figures show nearly 200 policemen have died of cardiac arrests and hypertension in the last five years and another 200 have been infected with tuberculosis.</b>
Agence France-Presse
Mumbai, January 7
Hundreds of policemen in Mumbai tested positive for HIV in recent health examinations, prompting the police department to launch an AIDS awareness drive, an official said Wednesday.
<b>"Around 450 policemen have tested positive for HIV," </b>Prem Kishan Jain, joint police commissioner for administration, told AFP.
The figure is initial, with medical data not yet compiled for much of Bombay's 40,000-strong police force.
"A comprehensive campaign has been launched and we are educating police officials about AIDS," Jain said.
Jain said the department was studying how the police were infected.
However, it is an open secret in Bombay that police are among the major patrons of sex workers.
Jain said most of the policemen who tested positive for HIV were low-level constables who were not well-educated.
<b>India officially has at least 4.58 million people with HIV/AIDS</b>, second only to South Africa with five million. A US study last year said HIV cases would skyrocket if the government did not move aggressively promote safe sex.
<b>Bombay policemen are known for their long working hours, high stress levels and poor pay.</b>
<b>Police figures show nearly 200 policemen have died of cardiac arrests and hypertension in the last five years and another 200 have been infected with tuberculosis.</b>