213 new HIV+,10 Aids cases reported in Sindh

KARACHI:

A total of 213 HIV+ cases and 10 Aids cases have been reported in Sindh in three months.

They have been registered by the government. This has taken the tally to a total of 4,927 HIV/Aids cases in the province till the end of June, said Dr M. Munawar Khan, the coordinator for the Sindh AIDS control programme.

“This continuous increase in the number of patients is due to the lack of awareness about its spread,” he said. People also need to keep in mind that it is only transmitted through blood contact with an HIV-infected person, either by a direct blood transfusion, sexual interaction, through used needles, syringes, razors, contaminated surgical instruments, or from an infected mother to a new born. Provincial programme manager Dr Arshad Mahmood added that because of the work they were doing people were becoming more aware and the stigma and discrimination was going down. More people are getting checkups and screening. “It is this phenomenon that had led to advanced reporting and result detection in more cases,” he explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2012.