Insufficient strategies against HIV / AIDS in Campeche

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Using the Sentinel method, Censida determined that there would be 60,000 infected in the state

Using the Sentinel method to determine the possibility to be infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV and AIDS (Censida) estimated that until April of this year, at least 60 thousand campechanos are infected with Immunodeficiency Syndrome Acquired (AIDS). This is why Diego Cervera Balam, president of the United for a Dignified Life Association, described that the situation as alarming since there are awareness campaigns among the citizens only when is the day of commemorating the virus.

The Sentinel method is used by the Federal and Campeche Health Department to carry out early warnings of changes in an epidemiological scenery and identifies patterns of geographic and social distribution to build a picture of future possibilities in the short, medium, and long term.

The CENSIDA alerts in April 2020 that a general overview of the situation throughout the country using the Sentinel method placed Campeche as one of the states with the highest number of new cases in the region among states such as Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.

At a press conference at the facilities of the Conciencia Crítica Campeche association, along with other non-governmental organizations, Cervera Balam emphasized the little attention that the Campeche Health Secretariat has paid to this pandemic in the state, long before health care services became universal in the country. He even mentioned that until the arrival of José Luis González Pinzón as head of the State Health Department, the previous officials denied meetings and sessions with the State Health Council against HIV / AIDS. However, now the problem lies in the lack of medicines and medical attention to patients with the virus and those who have already developed the disease.

In parallel, in the Plaza de la República, the State Health Department held a Health Fair for the commemoration of the International Day against HIV / AIDS that was also broadcasted live on the social network Facebook, where information was posted regarding birth control methods, that also go hand in hand with the use of functional mechanical contraceptives to prevent Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), including those mentioned before.

They also conducted rapid tests to detect possible suspected cases of HIV / AIDS carriers in a timely manner, which would later be located to alert them of the probabilities.

The hard data was provided by José Luis Calderón, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine of the State Health Department, who affirmed that at least the state Health agency serves 900 patients throughout the state, being about 500 from the municipality of Carmen, but he did not mention any other data regarding the other municipalities because he did not have the information at hand.

CENSIDA data shows that officially in Campeche there are 1,255 cases of HIV per 3,046 of AIDS, but Cervera Balam pointed out that the Sentinel method puts more than 60,000 campechanos at risk.

Source: lajornadamaya.mx

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