14 of 34 drug addicts infected with HIV

LUDHIANA: How deadly drugs are proving for the youth of Punjab is evident from the fact that 14 out of 34 drug addicts, who were admitted to the de-addiction centres by Ludhiana Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu, have been found infected with HIV, while 13 others are suffering from Hepatitis-C.

Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu consoles the mother of a drug addict during his visit to Abbupura village, near Sidhwan Bet, on Wednesday. Tribune photo

Jaswant Shetra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 11

How deadly drugs are proving for the youth of Punjab is evident from the fact that 14 out of 34 drug addicts, who were admitted to the de-addiction centres by Ludhiana Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu, have been found infected with HIV, while 13 others are suffering from Hepatitis-C.

Moreover, the family members of the addicts diagnosed with HIV are also on the risk of being infected from the same virus.

Bittu, who was on a visit to different villages of Jagraon and Sidhwan Bet areas to motivate more drug addicts to get treated, made these revelations here on Wednesday. He helped 13 more drug addicts to get admitted to de-addiction centres during his visit.

According to medical experts, drug addicts who share same syringes or use single syringe multiple times are prone to these deadly infections. It is not only drug addicts who are at the risk of suffering from such deadly diseases, their family members have also been under the risk of being infected from these diseases.

“I was completely shocked when I came to learn that 14 out of 34 drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation at de-addiction centres are infected with HIV, which is an incurable and deadly disease. Thirteen more youths have been infected from Hepatitis-C, which is also equally dangerous. This information is enough to prove that the problem of drugs has reached an alarming situation,” said Bittu, after meeting some drug addicts at Abbupura and Malseean Bajan villages, near Sidhwan Bet.

Experts also expressed concerns over the situation. They said the family members of drug addicts, especially the wives and children of addicts diagnosed with HIV and HCV, should also be examined. “It is not only these drug addict youths who are suffering from these life-threatening diseases, but their family members, too, are at a risk of being infected. The wives and children of married addicts are at the maximum risk of being infected from these viruses. The family members of drug addicts, who are diagnosed with HIV and HCV viruses, also need to be medically examined and treated if required,” said Dr Deepak, a Jagraon-based physician.