Number of HIV/AIDS cases on the rise in DG Khan

DHQ DG Khan MS says number of registered patients has increased by 43% during last six months

DERA GHAZI KHAN/ MUZAFFARGARH: The number of HIV/AIDS patients in Dera Ghazi Khan has increased by 30% during the first three months of the current year.

The number of registered patients has increased to 3,141 while the number of non-registered patients is more than 10,000 in Dera Ghazi Khan and approximately 15,000 in South Punjab.

DG Khan Teaching Hospital MS Dr Shahid Saleem told The Express Tribune that the number of HIV/ AIDS patients in South Punjab, especially in Dera Ghazi Khan and adjoining areas, has increased alarmingly. He added that the number of registered patients has increased by 43% during the last six months. Dr Saleem said that the number of registered patients till December 30, 2018 was 2,798 which has increased to 3,141.

The patients include 2,310 men, 690 women, 98 children and six transgender persons. “More than 40 people have Tuberculosis, 700 have hepatitis C and over 100 also have hepatitis B and they are being treated for these diseases as well as HIV/AIDS.”

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There is only one treatment center in Dera Ghazi Khan, South Punjab and it is being run under the AIDS control Programme of the Punjab government. Dr Saleem said that the majority of patients are migrants who have returned from the Gulf and other countries. Moreover, the virus is transmitted to people mainly by quacks due to their unsafe practices.

Dr Saleem said that measures were needed to prevent spread of this deadly disease in Dera Ghazi Khan and South Punjab. A rehabilitation center should be established to deal with his alarming situation. The special clinic, set up in 2006, is being run under the Punjab AIDS Control Programme. The Punjab government has provided all facilities and medicines free of charge, including the most expensive tests, at  the large AIDS treatment center of South Punjab.

A patient named Nazar Hussain told The Express Tribune that he has been under treatment for three-and-a-half years and now he is on the mend. At first, he was terrified, but after the treatment he feels he has been given a new life. Hussain also appealed to other patients suffering from the disease to come to the DG Khan hospital and seek proper treatment.

Similarly, two other female patients said that they were being treated for the last many years and have returned to their normal life. One of the patients named Rehmat Bibi has given birth to a child during the treatment and the child is healthy while her two children are infected by the HIV virus and are under treatment at present.

Some patients named Irshad, Mohammad Nawaz and Bashir said that the centre not only provides free medicines but also facilitates patients with free of charge medical tests. “We cannot afford this expensive treatment. I was diagnosed with the disease while working abroad and later I was deported.”

Situation in Muzaffargarh

AIDS has also spread in Muzaffargarh city and the number of AIDS patients has reached around 50 and they include women and children.

Recently five more patients were brought to District Headquarters Hospital Muzaffargarh. Muhammed Hussain, Kulsoom Bibi and Mohammad Sabir were admitted to the hospital and they belong to Muradabad - a suburban area.

Upon receiving information of new patients, the teams to the health department reached the hospital for investigation. According to the health department, the number of former AIDS patients was 47 which has now reached 52.

These patients belong to different areas of Muzaffargarh including Tiba Karimabad, Shah Jamal, Khangarh, Gujrat and Muradabad. However, it is worth mentioning that there is no center or hospital for AIDS affected people in Muzaffargarh.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2019.