SAHABAT

SAHABAT adalah singkatan untuk Persatuan Perantaraan Pesakit-Pesakit

Kelantan yang telah ditubuhkan pada tahun 1999. Persatuan ini ditubuhkan

hasil cetusan ide pengasasnya, En Marzuki Santokh dan beberapa orang

sukarelawan. SAHABAT juga merupakan ahli bersekutu Majlis AIDS

Malaysia (MAM). Kumpulan sasaran SAHABAT adalah mereka yang

hidup dengan HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), mereka yang berisiko untuk mendapat

HIV/AIDS seperti pengguna dadah, pasangan dan keluarga mereka, mereka yang ditahan di, atau/dan dibebaskan daripada Penjara

Pengkalan Chepa dan juga komuniti. Ini adalah kerana tahap pengetahuan dan kesedaran tentang HIV/AIDS adalah rendah di

kalangan mereka ini dan juga komuniti.

Aktiviti utama SAHABAT adalah bertujuan mengurangkan risiko jangkitan

HIV/AIDS di kalangan mereka yang berisiko tinggi. Aktiviti pencegahan

ini adalah samada di peringkat primer yang melibatkan mereka yang masih

belum dijangkiti HIV/AIDS dan/atau di peringkat sekunder bagi

mengurangkan rebakan daripada mereka yang telah pun dijangkiti

HIV/AIDS. Aktiviti yang dijalankan adalah selaras dengan pelan strategik

nasional untuk HIV/AIDS yang bertujuan mencapai sasaran millenium

Malaysia dari segi HIV/AIDS. Aktiviti-aktiviti ini juga dijalankan selaras

dengan aktiviti-aktiviti seumpamanya di peringkat nasional. Contoh aktviti

yang dijalankan oleh SAHABAT adalah sesi pengajaran/pembelajaran

tentang HIV/AIDS yang dijalankan samada di DIC SAHABAT dan/atau di

kalangan komuniti yang berkepentingan (seperti penghuni penjara). Aktivti

lain yang dijalankan termasuklah ‘outreach’ yang bertujuan menggalakkan PLWHA (‘People Living With HIV/AIDS) untuk tampil di

dalam komuniti sejagat demi membimbing mereka untuk hidup tanpa stigma dan diskriminasi dan seterusnya membantu menghalang

rebakan HIV/AIDS.

NSEP ataupun program pertukaran jarum dan alat suntikan bermula di Kelantan pada penghujung tahun 2007. Program ini

dilaksanakan oleh sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) iaitu Persatuan Perantaraan Pesakit Pesakit Kelantan (SAHABAT) di bawah

naungan Majlis Aids Malaysia. Program NSEP ini sehingga sekarang telah meliputi daerah Kota Bharu, Pasir Mas, Ketereh, Melor

dan Bachok. Sehingga Julai 2010, seramai 2410 pengguna dadah secara suntikan telah berdaftar dengan SAHABAT iaitu masing-

masing 1383 pada 2008, 750 pada 2009 dan 277 pada 2010. Melalui program NSEP ini, SAHABAT telah berjaya menarik mereka

yang berisiko HIV/AIDS (Pengguna Dadah) kepada cara hidup yang lebih sihat.

HIV & Mosquito by Tim Patterson, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Tulane University

By now, the CDC has long debunked the myth that HIV can be transmitted by the bite of a blood sucking mosquito. However, the

fact remains that some people are still confused about this pesky vector and its disease carrying capabilities, especially in areas where

other mosquito-borne diseases are prevalent. Years and years of tests and research have stated overwhelmingly that mosquitoes

cannot transmit the HIV virus. Here’s why. Experiments and observations indicate that when a female mosquito bites a human, it

does not inject its own or another organism’s blood into that person. Rather, it inserts saliva, which plays the role of a lubricant so the

mosquito can feed more effectively. This injection of saliva into the bloodstream may contain viruses and parasites from a previous

meal, as the disease particles reside and multiply in the mosquito’s salivary glands. Unlike a syringe or needle, blood is not

interchanged from mosquito to victim or from victim to victim. During the course of its next bite, the mosquito would transfer the

potential infection to the following unknowing host solely through saliva. This is how the mosquito vector is notorious for spreading

diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and the encephalitis viruses.

Thankfully, this is not the case for the HIV virus.

For the virus to pass on, it would have to survive and replicate inside the mosquito until another person is bitten. Fortunately, the HIV

virus cannot endure the hostile environment inside the mosquito’s stomach and is digested along with the blood meal after 1-2 days. If

a mosquito were to suck the blood of an HIV positive person, the virus will have been completely destroyed before it has the chance

to be transmitted. The mosquito itself does not even become infected with HIV. In the case of malaria and yellow fever however,

these diseases have evolved a series of transmission tricks to avoid being detected as food. As a very interesting escape route, the

malaria parasite has developed a method to flee the destructive digestive system as quickly as possible and replicate in the completely

separate and safe salivary duct. Some parasites are even unaffected by the digestive enzymes inside the mosquito’s stomach. In

addition, it helps that biting insects routinely fly to a resting area to digest their meal instead of immediately biting another person,

allowing time for the stomach to efficiently destroy the virus. And since the HIV particles no longer exist to travel to and invade the

salivary glands, the mechanism that most mosquito-borne diseases utilise to spread to others does not work for HIV.

Additional evidence concludes that since HIV particles circulate at low levels in the blood, well below the levels of other known

mosquito-borne diseases, the potential for a new transmitted infection is that much closer to an absolute zero. For the HIV to transmit

between humans, it would take roughly 10 million mosquitoes bites that had begun feeding on an HIV positive person to receive a

single unit of HIV from contaminated mosquito mouthparts. The odds are in our favour.

CALENDAR

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ADVOCACY MEETINGS

Exhibition at the International

Islamic University Malaysia for

“AIDS Fundrasing”, Gombak

Exhibition at Sungai Buloh

Hospital.

Exhibition at PICC for “Sidang

Asia Pasifik ke 61”, Putrajaya

“Karnival HIV & AIDS serta

Forunm Perdana Hal Ehwal Islam”

di Pengkalan Tentera Laut Di Raja

Malaysia, Lumut

Exhibition for “Kempen Kesihatan”

in Tampin

For more information contact Guna

@ +603 40451033

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MAF FUNDRAISING

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Melinda Looi vibrant “Circle of

Hope” design umbrella and sports

bottle for sale

For more information contact

Shanthini @+ 603 40451033

Umbrella RM25.00

Sports Bottle RM25.00

2

Malaysian AIDS Council

and Malaysian AIDS Foundation

are on

http://www.facebook.com/Malay

sian.AIDS.Council

and

http://twitter.com/macmafnews