The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) undertook screening of asymptomatic persons from high risk group with the ELISA test for HIV infection in 1986 and found that HIV infection has reached India. ICMR in collaboration with the central and State health services initiated the national sero-surveillance programme for HIV infection in 43 surveillance and five reference centres to determine the major modes of transmission and magnitude of infection. Data from the sero-surveillance showed that HIV infection was present in all the known high risk groups and in the general population in all the States both in urban and rural areas.

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