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106 new HIV positive cases registered, 1,861 total cases
LARKANA: As many as 106 new HIV positive cases have been registered at HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Centre of Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) since September 17, 2017 bringing tally of registered positive cases from 1,755 to 1,861, it was revealed. Larkana district remained top on the list of positive cases as it had 857 […]
LARKANA: As many as 106 new HIV positive cases have been registered at HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Centre of Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) since September 17, 2017 bringing tally of registered positive cases from 1,755 to 1,861, it was revealed.
Larkana district remained top on the list of positive cases as it had 857 registered patients having an increase of 47 new cases. Kambar-Shahdadkot district witnessed an increase of 16 new patients as it had 281 cases. Dadu had 180 and Khairpur 179 cases. Out of these 1,861 cases, 1,473 were male, 340 female, 15 children and 33 transgender. As many as 975 were between the age group of 18-30 years, 518 between 31-40, 211 between 41-50, 75 between 51-60, 24 between 61-70, 42 below 18 and 16 were children.
This showed that young people were being regularly infected with the deadly disease, main reason of which was said to be unawareness among them.
In 2007, there were only eight registered patients at the centre but instead of a decrease, the number has now reached 1,861 in ten years, which was alarming and proved that preventive measures were almost none.
As many as 185 positive patients were also suffering from hepatitis C out of which 168 were male and 17 female and 22 had also been infected with hepatitis B out of which 18 were male, three female and one transgender. 424 positive people were also brought at the centre by NGOs of Khairpur (105 people), Dadu (70), Jacobabad (56), Naushehro Feroze (19) and Larkana (174), out of which 11 were female. The data showed that one male was infected by contaminated needles, 342 were infected by using same syringe for drug use. 896 male, 225 female and 32 transgender were infected by sexual transmission, 81 male, 87 female and three children were infected by blood transfusion, 11 children were infected by vertical infection and rest did not disclose how they may have got the disease.
Statistics showed that HIV was constantly penetrating fast among the masses which needed to be curbed with thorough awareness campaigns all over the province on regular basis. The affected patients, requesting anonymity, complained that no surgical procedures were being carried out in the CMCH surgical wards by the concerned head of departments (HODs) and demanded that routine surgeries must be made according to WHO guidelines like other patients and they should also be treated like other human beings. They further alleged that they faced acute hardships in carrying out various pathological tests at CMCH labs which must also be resolved. Instead of providing vital viral load test (VLT) facility at CMCH centre, it had been provided to the patients indirectly through Aga Khan Laboratories costing huge amount, they added. Nobody knows where the received amount of international donors is being used, the affected patients further complained.
Dr Hola Ram, incharge of centre said that illiterate society badly needs awareness without which HIV cases will never be controlled. He said government’s preventive organisations must also be awakened from deep sleep and accelerated so that they may also discharge their moral and legal obligations not only to control HIV but other dangerous diseases like hepatitis. He said all required facilities must be provided at all the treatment centres in Sindh so that poor infected people should feel free to get treatment anywhere. He said an infected person can pass his/her life comfortably if they get proper treatment medicines regularly.
Published in Daily Times, November 30th 2017.
