More than 326 cases of AIDS registered in Sindh in three months

Registered HIV Positives on rise in Sindh as government increases surveillance and 80% of it reside in Karachi only

KARACHI:

There has been an alarming increase in the number of people suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids) in Sindh and 326 new cases were registered in the past three months, said a report issued by the Sindh Aids Control Programme.

According to the report, 16 people, including a woman, have lost their lives due to the disease in the past three months. The report also mentions that around 80 per cent of the cases are registered in Karachi. Only 198 cases of the disease were reported from 2004 to 2012, it adds.

The provincial head of the programme, Dr Arshad Mehmood, told The Express Tribune that more Aids cases were showing up because there was an increase in government surveillance of the disease.

“The highest incidence of the disease is found among addicts who inject drugs using syringes,” he lamented.

The doctor also pointed out that the fears and misconceptions people have about the disease prevent them from asking for help. He added that the government should do more to trace and assist the people suffering from the disease.

A representative from an NGO, who requested anonymity, explained that little could be hoped from the government as it had not been able to curb human immunodeficiency virus in spite of having spent millions on it.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2013.