THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 2, 2016- Topic 1
With the World Health
Organisation releasing guidelines on HIV self-testing, a major obstacle in
improving access to diagnosis has been cleared. Though much progress has been
achieved in India in making HIV testing accessible and free of cost, many infected
persons remain unaware of their status. Across the world, nearly 40 per cent of
people with HIV are unaware of their infection and run the risk of unknowingly
transmitting it. Besides going a long way in preventing new infections, early
diagnosis will help in a prompt start to treatment and enable the infected to
live longer and healthier. Though there has been a 66 per cent drop in
incidence in 2015 in India compared with 2000, the number of new HIV infections
last year was 86,000; children below 15 years of age alone account for 12 per
cent of this number. In 2015, the total number of people with HIV in India was
estimated to be 2.1 million. Of this, 1.5 million were detected and tested at
integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTC) and about a million people
are on treatment. This leaves about half a million who are unaware of their HIV
status. The government has approved in principle the proposal to take HIV
testing closer to those in need by starting community-based testing. This will
soon become operational and will be in addition to institutional testing. India
is also weighing the option of self-testing.
The WHO-approved OraQuick
HIV self-testing is based on HIV antibodies present in oral and blood samples.
The test can detect antibodies developed within three months of getting
infected. It is a screening test, and a positive result should be reconfirmed
though a blood-based test. Despite greater awareness, people with HIV still
face stigma and discrimination. As a result, getting everyone at risk of HIV
infection tested has been a challenge. The OraQuick self-testing makes
diagnosis easier and faster, besides ensuring privacy and confidentiality, thus
encouraging more people to get tested. But there are challenges in terms of
counselling and sensitivity, with the accuracy of the tests pegged at around 93
per cent. Counselling has to be done through innovative ways, such as over the
telephone, as in the case of the U.S. Unlike the conventional method of getting
tested at ICTCs, people self-testing should be more aware about the possibility
of false negatives. But the risk of not getting tested far outweighs the
limitations posed by self-testing. Twenty-three countries have in place
policies that support HIV self-testing. It is time India adopted it quickly to
enable more people to test themselves and help break the transmission cycle.
Vocabulary
Obstacle: a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
Example: The major obstacle to achieving that goal is money
Synonyms: barrier, hurdle,
obstruction, bar, block, impediment
Infected: affect (a person, organism, cell, etc.) With a disease-causing organism.
Example: There is no evidence that the virus can infect humans
Synonyms: pass infection
to, spread disease to, contaminate
Unaware: having no knowledge of a situation or fact.
Example: They were unaware of his absence
Synonyms: ignorant, unknowing, unconscious, heedless, unmindful, oblivious
Diagnosis: the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination
of the symptoms.
Example: Early diagnosis and treatment are essential
Synonyms: identification, detection, recognition, determination, discovery
Detected: discover or identify the presence or existence of.
Example: Cancer may soon be detected in its earliest stages
Integrated: combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole.
Example: Transportation planning should be integrated with energy policy
Synonyms: combine, amalgamate, merge, unite, fuse, blend, mingle, coalesce
Reconfirmed: confirm again.
Example: I was able to reconfirm this fact firsthand during my visit
Stigma: a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or
person.
Example: The stigma of mental disorder
Synonyms: shame, disgrace, dishonor, ignominy, opprobrium, humiliation
Pegged: fix or make fast with a peg or pegs.
Example: Drape individual plants with nets, pegging down the edges
Synonyms: fix, pin, attach, fasten, secure, make
fast
Conventional: based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.
Example: A conventional morality had dictated behavior
Synonyms: normal, standard, regular, ordinary, usual, traditional, typical, common