4 southern states, UT report over 33% of 25L HIV cases

With over 25.44 lakh people living with HIV in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE) surveillance has stated that four southern states and a UT account for 33.26 percent of these cases.

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The institute serves as the regional institute for the five south Indian states/UTs— Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Out of 120 districts in these states, 54 have been categorised under high-priority for focused intervention under the AIDS control programme.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have reported 2.8 lakh, 1.69 lakh and 1.58 lakh HIV cases, respectively, making up for 24 percent of the HIV cases nationally.

According to 2023 estimations, prevalence of HIV among Indian individuals aged 15-49 years is estimated to be 0.20%. Within the ICMR-NIE region, Telangana and Karnataka reported adult HIV prevalence above the national average.

The ICMR-NIE surveillance record states, “Although the overall HIV epidemic in India remains low — with an adult prevalence of 0.20 percent in 2023, there are significant geographic disparities across states/UTs and districts. Within the ICMR-NIE region, Telangana at 0.44% and Karnataka at 0.42% reported adult HIV prevalence levels, exceeding the 0.20% national average.”

“About 80 districts which include 32 in Telangana, 29 in Karnataka, 18 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry reported a prevalence above 0.20%,” it added.

Specifically, Karnataka with 2.80 lakh HIV cases, Tamil Nadu with 1.69 lakh, and Telangana with 1.58 lakh cases represented nearly 24% of the national HIV burden.

Of 54 districts, 24 in Karnataka, 15 in Tamil Nadu, 13 in Telangana and two in Kerala have been categorised for focused intervention.

“In 2023, an estimated 68.45 thousand new HIV infections occurred in India. The five south Indian states reported approximately 12 percent of the annual new infections in India. A total of seven districts, three in Karnataka and four in Telangana each reported over 200 new infections,” the findings said.

Regarding the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) needs, an estimated 19.96 thousand pregnant women required PMTCT related services across India in 2023.

The southern states represented 19.4 percent of the national PMTCT needs. A total of seventeen districts in the region – nine in Karnataka, four in Tamil Nadu and four in Telangana --recorded PMTCT needs for more than 50 pregnant women.