RT - Journal TY - JOUR A1 - Giri, Purushottam A1 - Bangal, Vidyadhar A1 - Phalke, Deepak T1 - Prevalence of HIV among rural pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, Maharashtra, India YR - 2012/1/1 JF - International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences JO - Int J Health Allied Sci SP - 13 OP - 15 VO - 1 IS - 1 UL - https://www.ijhas.in/article.asp?issn=2278-344X;year=2012;volume=1;issue=1;spage=13;epage=15;aulast=Giri;t=5 DO - 10.4103/2278-344X.96413 N2 - Background: Many antenatal clinics (ANC)-based HIV surveillance systems in India have limited coverage of remote rural sites, a weakness that compromises adequate estimation, monitoring, and development of effective preventive and care programs. To address this void in rural area of western Maharashtra, we conducted antenatal clinic-based sentinel surveillance to know the prevalence of HIV infection among rural pregnant women. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at ANC clinic, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, Maharashtra. A total of 12,171 pregnant women from rural area accepted HIV testing after counseling who attending ANC clinic in Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, during January 2008 to December 2011 were included in the study. Data were entered in Microsoft excel and percentage and proportion was calculated. Results: In the present study, out of 12171 pregnant women from the rural area accepted HIV testing after counseling who attending ANC clinic, only 50 (0.41%) were HIV positive and remaining 12, 221 (99.59%) were HIV negative. The study showed that the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women was 0.41%. Out of the 50 HIV positive pregnant women studied majority, 32 (64.0%), were primigravidas and 18 (36.0%) were multigravidas. Conclusion: In our study all 12171 pregnant women from the rural area accepted HIV testing after counseling and prevalence of HIV was found to be 0.41%. The need of the hour is to provide universal access to these services by involving the NGO's and the private sector. ER -