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GUWAHATI: Spreading awareness on AIDS across the country, the Red Ribbon Express will arrive at Kamakhya junction here on August 9. An initiative of the ministry of health and family welfare, the train will be stationed at Moriani, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia as well during its journey through Assam."On August 9 morning, the Red Ribbon Express will be thrown open for public by state health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. To spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, the Red Ribbon Express will be at Guwahati till August 10. After this, the train will leave for Moriani where it will be open for public on August 11 and 12. Then the train will move to Dibrugarh and will be there on August 13 and 14. Finally it will leave for Tinsukia", said Fakharuddin Ahmed, additional deputy commissioner, Kamrup (Metro) in a news conference here on Monday.He appealed to public to extend support to the government by taking part in the mission. Ahmed said the Kamrup (Metro) district administration will provide the logistics and other requisite services to Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) during the stay of the Red Ribbon Express in the city.H C Barman, the joint director of ASACS, said though Assam has a low prevalence of AIDS, it is categorized as highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of its proximity to two high AIDS prevalence states of Manipur and Nagaland. He added that till June 2012, 6,982 HIV positive cases have been detected in Assam, out of which 1,758 have already developed AIDS.

Till the same period, 2,900 HIV positive cases have been detected in Kamrup (Rural) and Kamrup (Metro) districts alone. But the increase in the figure of HIV positive cases in Kamrup (Metro) district is rapid as compared to the other districts of the state, stated ASACS statistics.

"A total 5,073 HIV positive patients are registered in ART care centres across the state and out of them 1,800 are undergoing treatment," said Barman. As per estimates of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in 2009, Assam has 14,244 estimated HIV affected people and adult prevalence rate is 0.08 per cent.

ASACS said though the prevalence of HIV is significantly decreasing in the state, the number of case detection is increasing every year.