Spike in HIV cases in Muktsar, alarm bells for Health Department

Archit Watts

Muktsar, May 14

The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients in the district has increased two and a half times in the past one year. As many as 318 HIV positive patients have been detected in the 2022-23 fiscal in the district, whereas this figure was 124 in the 2021-22 financial year.

Drug users to blame

• Health authorities claim intravenous drug users main reason behind the rise in the number of HIV patients
• Use same needle to inject drugs, leading to HIV infection; there are some integrated cases of HIV, hepatitis-C & TB

The district health authorities claim that intravenous drug users are the main reason behind the increase in the number of HIV patients.

“The use of the same needle to inject drugs is infecting people with HIV. There are some integrated cases of HIV, hepatitis-C virus (HCV) and tuberculosis (TB) as well. Earlier, every year, nearly 100 people were found HIV positive in the district, but the figures of the last financial year are startling,” said Dr Ranju Singla, Chief Medical Officer, Muktsar.

She said there was no specific age group of such patients. Concerned over the increase in the number of HIV patients, the Health Department has decided to launch a special campaign next month to conduct HIV, HCV and TB tests of jail inmates and those getting treatment at de-addiction centres.

Health officials said free treatment was provided to those found HIV positive. “Besides, we motivate HIV positive people to bring other persons in their group for testing. These people are mostly uneducated,” they said.

Some anti-drug crusaders claim that a large number of people have not been tested yet. “The actual HIV positivity rate is much more than the findings of the Health Department. If the district administration succeeds in its endeavour of conducting tests of those lodged in jails or de-addiction centres, more surprising figures will come out,” they claimed.