Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 13 December 2024
A two-day training programme on HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) 2025 was held by the A&N AIDS Control Society (ANACS) on December 10 and 11, 2024, at the Directorate of Industries conference hall in Sri Vijaya Puram. The event aimed to enhance the implementation of the surveillance system and build the capacity of facility-level staff involved in the process.
Dr. Suja Antony, Director of Health Services and Vice Chairperson of ANACS, inaugurated the programme as the chief guest. In her address, Dr. Antony highlighted that the training would be valuable not only for newly recruited staff participating in HSS for the first time but also as a refresher for those previously trained in earlier HSS sessions. She expressed her gratitude to the resource persons from the ICMR – National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI), Kolkata, for their contribution to the event.
Dr. Subrata Saha, Project Director/Project Coordinator for HSS at ANACS, provided an overview of the objectives of HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2025. He explained that HSS has been essential for tracking the spread of HIV/AIDS since its inception and continues to be the cornerstone of epidemic monitoring among pregnant women, high-risk groups, and the bridge population under the National AIDS and STD Control Programme. In the A&N Islands, the focus of HSS will be on pregnant women, with a target of collecting 1,600 samples over three months.
The training sessions covered a range of topics, including the methodology of HIV Sentinel Surveillance at ANC sites, the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved, managing data forms, and laboratory procedures for specimen collection, processing, packaging, and transportation.
The resource persons from ICMR-NIRBI, Kolkata, included Dr. Debjit Chakraborty, Scientist-E; Dr. Debdutta Agasty, Research Officer; and Dr. Ishanee Ghosal, Junior Consultant Epidemiologist. Other contributors to the training included Dr. Rajiv Kumar Ghosh, DPHO (S/A) and State Surveillance Team Member for HSS, Mr. Senthil Nathan, Focal Person for HSS, and Mr. Ganesh Debnath, AD SI from ANACS.
Around 50 participants, including officials and staff from 13 ICTCs, Medical Officer In-charges, Counsellors, Laboratory Technicians, and Staff Nurses, attended the comprehensive training. At the conclusion of the programme, certificates were distributed to the participants, acknowledging their successful completion of the training.