HEALTH

10 city doctors to get training in AIDS control
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 19
With 30,000 HIV-infected infants being born in India every year, the UT AIDS Control Society is all set to launch the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) programme to prevent worsening of the already alarming situation.

The names of 10 doctors from the PGI and the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) have been cleared by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to undergo training at Mumbai. The team includes heads of gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry and microbiology departments at the PGI and the GMCH.

“As soon as the training is over and we receive the medicines and AIDS kits funded by Unicef under the Global Fund, we will launch the programme as one of the biggest challenge before us is to keep the HIV infection among women low to reduce mother-to-child transmission,” said an official of the society. As such, the programme would be made an integral component of mother and child health services, he added.

Though the PPTCT programme was to be launched in the city last year, with NACO giving priority to high prevalence states, there has been a delay as the city falls in the category of low prevalence state.

The number of AIDS cases reported from the UT, last year, was only eight, however, the number of those who received the treatment at the PGI, the GMCH and the General Hospital was 239. “Due to the social stigma and ostracisation linked with AIDS, lack of health facilities and at times denial of treatment in the region, patients from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and even Rajasthan prefer to come here for medical help,” explained a senior PGI doctor.

The focus of the programme would be timely detection and counselling amongst women of the reproductive age group, so that those who were infected did not continue to bear children, explained officials.

Doctors pointed out that HIV could be transmitted during pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, during child birth or breast feeding.

Spectacular scientific advances have been made in the past seven years which have made a significant impact in devising strategies to reduce the infection from mother to child, but at times due to the refusal of women to take the medicine or return to their parents' home during the last stages of pregnancy, problem are created.

The chances of transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her child ranges between 25 to 45 per cent in developing countries and 15 to 25 per cent in developed countries. “This difference is largely attributed to infant feeding practices, especially breast feeding, as the chances of infection being passed on to an infant through breast milk ranges between 16 to 29 per cent,” said a doctor.

AS per NACO figures, 4.3 million children have died due to AIDS till 2000, while another 1.4 million are living with the killer disease. One in every 11 persons who is infected with AIDS is a child. 

SPORTS

Girls’ football tourney from Aug 22
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 19
All preparations for the first Shivalik Trophy girls sub-junior football championship (under 16 years) have been made. Teams from 13 girls’ schools have confirmed their participation in the tournament, which will be played from August 22 to 25.

The championship has been sponsored by Mr D.S. Bedi, Director-Principal, Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, Chandigarh, and the matches will be played on the football ground of the school, according to Principal Ravinder Talwar, president, Chandigarh Football Association.

Mr Talwar stated that to make this game more popular the rules for the championship have been relaxed. The players will be permitted to play with PT shoes/warm-up shoes. The timing of the matches have also been reduced. The size of the goal posts will be reduced and each team will be permitted to make five substitutions during a match. All matches of the tournament will be supervised by qualified referees, he added.

After the conclusion of the championship 25 probables will be selected for a coaching camp prior to their participation in the sub-junior (girls) national football championship, which will be held in October.

City shooting team

Arjun Pratap will be the captain of the Chandigarh shooting team, which has been selected to participate in the 13th All-India GV Mavlankar Shooting Championship to be held at Chennai (Tamil Nadu) from August 22 to September 2.

The following will represent Chandigarh: Men: Arjun Pratap Atma Ram, Harmandeep S. Sidhu, Jaswinder Singh, Dr Rajinder K. Singla, Rajkumar Rana, Gurdev Singh, Rajeev Bhatt, Navneet Singh, Bhai Gurjinder Singh, Gurmandeep Sidhu, Sarbjeet Singh, Akhil Pahuja, Aakash Pahuja, Puneet Sharma, Shivendu Sharma, Indermeet Sarao, Jagraj Singh, Surjeet Bhadu, Jagdeep Singh, Lalit Sharma, Himashu Sharma and Sulinder Jeet Singh.

Women: Priti Sharma, Natasha Singh, Narveen Sarao, Nanki Singh, Vimal, Jagatpreet Kaur Chadha and Rinchen Lhamo.

Mr Daleep Singh Chandel and Parminder Singh will be the coaches accompanying the squad while Dr Rajinder K. Singla will be the manager.

Chandigarh overall karate champ
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 19
In the All-India Karate Championships-2003, organised by Shotokan Karate Association of India, Chandigarh won the overall championship trophy. Vishal Sharma won the best karateka award. It was held at the Government Institute for Blind, Jamalpur Colony, Ludhiana, from August 15 to 17.

The following players of the Chandigarh team won medals in different weight categories — Meenu Sharma (gold), Sandeep Kaur (gold), Sunita (gold), Sneh Sharma (silver), Anu Gupta (gold), Roopinderjit (gold), Chander Bagga (gold), Manish (gold), Abhishek (gold), Mohit Chopra (silver) and Vishal Sharma (gold).

Team for gymnastics championship 
Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh, August 19
The following gymnasts have been selected for the national team for the world series championship to be held at Leipzig in Germany from September 18 to 22. The trials were held at the ITBP gymnasium hall in the city today. In the individual (men) category Kamal Singh of Jammu and Kashmir and Satyajeet Singh and K. Enobi Singh of the Services were selected. In the individual (women) category M.Luwangleima Devi of Manipur and Asmita of Jammu and Kashmir were selected.

In the mixed pairs Jaiprakash and Ritu of Chandigarh made it to the finals along with Atul Sharma and Indeep Kaur of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the trio category Ameya Joshi, Aditya Joshi and Tarak Das of Maharashtra were selected along with Kamal Singh, Atul Sharma and Manvinder Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, besides Ranjan Singh, Sunil Chhetri and Naresh Singh Bisht of the Services.

AMBALA
Haryana gymnastic championship: The Haryana state gymnastic championship wil be held at the War Heroes Memorial Stadium from August 22 to 24.

District Gymnastic Association secretary G.M.Sharma said the state- level championship will be organised by Ambala District Gymnastic Association. The teams will report on August 21 at Ambala, according to a pressnote.

Junior assistant suspended
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, August 19
The Punjab government today suspended a junior assistant employed at the Punjab Secretariat following orders of Mr Jai Singh Gill, Chief Secretary, Punjab.

The said junior assistant, Joginderpal Sharma, has been suspended following his arrest in a case registered against him at Patiala under Sections 494, 498 A, 120B and 506 of the IPC.

The case has been registered against Sharma following allegations by his wife Kamlesh that he is living with another woman besides maltreating her.