Studies currently underway in the country are increasingly linking suffering from shingles diseases (Ananse) to symptoms of HIV/AIDS. The Ghana Aids Commission has, therefore, urged people suffering from shingles to offer themselves for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) to know their status. Dr. Sylvia Anie, Director of Policy Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of Ghana Aids Commission, disclosed this on Friday at the VCT of 350 people in Accra by the St John Ambulance. She explained that research done at the Police Hospital and other institutions had clearly shown many people suffering from either tuberculosis or shingles also tested positive for HIV. She said there was, therefore, an ample evidence to show that the two diseases were bedfellows of HIV/AIDS. Dr Anie said the prevalence rate of HlV/AIDS in the country had hit 3.2 per cent, which meant that of every 100 people randomly tested, four were positive. The only way, as she said, for Ghanaians, especially the youth to avoid AIDS was to abstain from sex and focus on their studies, since their main objective of being in school was to study hard to pass their exams and not to become obsessed with sex. Ms Jody Benninger, HIV Prevention Specialist and Test Counsellor, urged Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the notion that it was a death sentence to undertake voluntary testing for HIV. She said it, however, empowered people to live positively and remain unaffected, but if, on the other hand, they were HIV positive, that would help them change their lifestyles for the better in order to prolong their lifespan. She said the VCT was also conducted under strict confidentiality to ensure the dignity of the people who had offered themselves for the test. Ms Benninger said even though the prevalence rate in Ghana was still lower than those of countries such as India and South Africa, there was still no room for complacency. Mrs Mariama Sumani, a member of the Governing Council of St John Ambulance, Ghana, said in addition to first aid emergency services carried out, the St John Ambulance was re-packaging its services to address the social menace of AIDS. She observed that HlV/AIDS was depriving nations of their productive human resource and it was time the St John's ambulance took on board the issue of HIV/AIDS in addition to the traditional role. Source: Daily Graphic