HIV warning over India's call centres

23/06/2008

One of the world's leading HIV experts has warned that Indian call centres run the risk of becoming a hotbed for the spread of the virus.

According to Suniti Solomon - the woman who detected the first Indian HIV case in 1986 - promiscuity among "call centre Romeos" is fast becoming one of the top concerns among health professionals.

Speaking to the Associated Press on Saturday, Dr Solomon said the massive sector poses a significant threat to national efforts against HIV/Aids.

Outling the social circumstances of the roughly 1.3 million people who currently work in a call centre, she explained: "They have all the money. They huddle together in the night. They are young, they are sexually active, so naturally they start [sexual relations]."

Just hours prior to making those comments, the respected medical expert told delegates at an international medical conference that India's infection rate had reached a "plateau," suggesting more needed to be done to accelerate progress against the disease.

She noted that three to four call centre workers visit her clinic every week, all of whom cite concerns about the threat posed by having unprotected sex.

Many such employees have only recently graduated from school or college, and given their the comparatively high salary of 25,000 rupees per month Dr Solomon insists they constitute a new, hitherto overlooked high-risk group.

"If they are having sex just among themselves, and all are non-infected it is fine," she acknowledged. "But if there is one person who has gone out of this group and brought in the virus, it will spread to everyone."

According to the UN, approximately 2.5 million Indians are currently living with HIV/Aids.


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