Introduction: Globally, around 34 million people are living with HIV in 2010, and 35% of the pregnant  women are tested for HIV in the low and middle income countries. HIV infection in pregnancy has  become a complication of pregnancy in some developing countries. This has major implications for  the management of pregnancy and birth. With an estimated one and a half million HIV-positive women  becoming pregnant each year, almost 600,000 children will be infected by mother-to-child transmission  annually. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted from October – December 2011 in the Department  of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. It is a tertiary care hospital located  in Peshawar. A sample of 200 pregnant females was used to accomplish the study. The targeted study  population was all antenatal attendees who were visiting the hospital within the current pregnancy. A pre-  coded, pre- tested structured questionnaire was used to gather information on the study variables. The  questionnaire included variables related socio-demographics e.g., age, education status, occupation,  residence. It also included the gestational age and gravidity of the pregnant females. Results: A total of 200 pregnant females attending the antenatal clinic participated in the study. The  age range of the respondents was 17 to 45 years. Age range 17-25 years accounted for the highest  percentage (52%). Around 70% of the respondents had no formal schooling while only 18% had got  secondary education. Ninety – seven percent of the females were housewives while only 3% were  employed. Out of the total respondents (200) only 86 (43%) have heard of HIV while 114 (57%)  respondents have not heard of HIV. Conclusion: The study concluded that only 43% of the pregnant females have heard of HIV. Although  this is not promising still there is room for improvement. Health education targeting pregnant females is  essential. SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS; 2012; IX(2) 9-14 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/saarctb.v9i2.7972

Introduction: Tuberculosis is still a major public health problem worldwide. Pakistan is one of the few countries with extremely high tuberculosis (TB) incidence and ranks sixth among the 22 high TB burden countries. World Health Organization (WHO) and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD) advocate the use of DOTS strategy to control tuberculosis. The study aimed to determine the adherence of DOTS facilitators and treatment supporters to the defaulter tracing mechanisms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Introduction: HIV is still a major global health problem. In 2009, globally there were an estimated 2.6 million (2.3 million–2.8 million) incident cases of HIV. According to UNAIDS in 2009 a total of 98,000 (79,000 – 120,000) people are living with HIV in Pakistan. Pakistan was classifi ed as a low-prevalence country with many risk factors that could lead to the rapid development of an epidemic. In 2004, a concentrated outbreak of HIV was found among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Karachi, where over 20 percent of those tested were found to be infected. Prevention efforts are beginning to bear fruit, with indications of behaviour change and declines in prevalence rates in a number of high-burden countries. The study aimed to determine the level of awareness among college students regarding HIV/AIDS in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in the two colleges of Peshawar. A total of sixty students were enrolled in the study thirty from each college through random sampling. The students were from second year class. One of the colleges was from Public Sector, Government College Peshawar and the other was from private sector Peshawar Model College (PMC). Results: It was interesting to note that 60% of the students of Government (Govt.) college and 70% of the students of PMC knew that a person having a healthy look might have been infected with HIV. Seventy percent of the students of Govt. college and 60% of the students of PMC reported that there is no curative treatment for HIV/AIDS. Major source of information regarding HIV/AIDS was through TV and friends. Condoms were regarded as main protection from HIV/AIDS as 35% of the students of Govt. College and 40% of the students of PMC reported as a method of prevention, Other preventive methods were also reported by the students. Conclusion: The study depicted that there remain gaps in certain areas of awareness of the students which needs initiation of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes among college students. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/saarctb.v8i2.5900 SAARCTB 2011; 8(2): 37-41

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The early detection of cancer is extremely important in the fight against cancer. However, the detection of various cancers in their early stages has been impeded by the inherent capacity of conventional diagnostic methods. Nanotechnology has provided new materials and contrast agents for an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of cancers as well as the prognosis of cancers during cancer treatment. Therefore, it is believed that nanotechnology could provide a highly sensitive, specific, and multiplexed capacity to measure extracellular cancer biomarkers and can be able to detect cancer cells. In this chapter, the recent developments in the application of nanotechnology for the diagnosis of cancers have been summarized. Further, the key issues which hinder the clinical application of nanotechnology-based diagnostic approaches have been discussed.