Due to the inordinate delay in purchase of the HIV rapid test kits, it is feared that Punjab may reach epidemic proportions of the disease.

The percentagea of AIDS cases has increased by 57pc in Pakistan during the last eight years with a death rate of 369pc.

Among the provinces, Punj

ab is at its top with a major threat of an epidemic with 50pc of the total 36,902 HIV/AIDS cases across the country, followed by Sindh with 43pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5pc and Balochistan 2pc. The estimated number of unregistered HIV cases in Pakistan was 165,000, according to a report of the National AIDS Control Programme, a copy of which is available with Dawn.

Pakistan is also one of the few countries in the World Health Organisation Eastern Mediterranean Region where HIV infections were increasing at an alarming rate.

In Punjab, 2,805 registered AIDS patients were reported in DG Khan DHQ Hospital, 2,548 in Mayo Hospital Lahore, 2,363 in Allied Hospital Faisalabad, 2,058 in Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital Gujrat, 1,983 in Jinnah Hospital Lahore, 1,425 Civil Hospital Multan and 1,015 Services Hospital Lahore.

The province also housed 26 of the total 44 HIV treatment centres established across Pakistan. The total number of registered AIDS patients was recently complied by these centres in Punjab.

An official told Dawn that despite the serious situation the Punjab government’s failure to procure 100,000 rapid diagnostic kits for the screening of patients had increased the risks of an epidemic of the disease across the province. He said another major drawback of the Punjab Aids Control Programme (PACP) has been the discrepancy in the reported data of HIV/AIDS patients.

Shockingly, he claimed, that out of the total 18,556 registered patients in Punjab, the programme was providing treatment to 9,400 only. The reason was said to be lack of transparency in the reporting mechanism pertaining to the AIDS patients, he stated.

Similarly, the programme authorities were supposed to prepare and submit a new PC-I to set new targets to curtail the impact of the disease. Upon failure to submitting the new PC-I, the planning and development department extended the previous programme to June 2020.

According to the previous PC-I, the programme was to establish treatment centres in all 36 districts of Punjab by June 2019.

The official further said the programme had also constantly ignored the top five key populations living with HIV/AIDS for their screening and treatment. These included the injection drug users, transgender, male and female sex workers, and truck and bus drivers. It has mainly been focusing on the general population rather than underlining these five core groups that were one of the major reasons behind a surge in the reported cases, he said.

PACP Director Dr Munir Malik claimed that the dubious/double data entry of the AIDS patients in Punjab was caused by a faulty mechanism. “It is unfortunate that many dashboards are working in Punjab for data entry/reporting of the AIDS cases,” he added.

“The programme feels that reporting of such a large number of AIDS cases (18,556) could be the result of duplication of already registered patients during data entry by various dashboards,” Dr Malik claimed.

He said that the national and provincial officials associated with the programme had decided to review the data entry system by introducing biometric scanning and a designated dashboard to avoid duplication.

“The process of procurement of diagnostic kits is under way and I hope it is done till the end of this month,” he added.

The post Punjab may face AIDS ‘epidemic’ on failing to procure test kits appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

t least 8 youngsters in Punjab have contracted AIDS after a group of 16 used the same needle to do substance abuse. This has now revealed 16 such cases of AIDS and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) caused by usage of the same needle.

Sangrur SDM Abhishek Gupta told India Today TV that 7-8 cases were found positive and reports of a few others are still awaited. Locals said that the number of AIDS patients could be even more as addicts of nearby villages were also using intravenous drugs.

“My cousin has been using drugs and was a school dropout. He started stealing valuables from home to buy the drugs. We did not hide his case as it was an eye opener. It is because of our courage that other cases also came to light,” said the sister of one such victim.

Fearing social boycott, families of several other victims refused to talk. The local administration also remained tight-lipped about the number of cases and was tried to hush-up the matter.

Local police hurriedly registered 17 cases against the peddlers after AIDS and HCV cases came to light. The district administration also started spreading awareness against drugs after these cases came to light.

“This is a failure of the police and local administration. The victims said that police did not let them go even after taking money. This is shameful,” said Harish Kumar Malhotra, a retired warrant officer.

The Sangrur district administration is in the dock with these cases becoming public. Officials were seen tracing the drug addicts and packing them off in ambulances. Some of them have been sent to a rehabilitation centre.

The revelation of AIDS and HCV cases has angered locals who blamed police for the widespread use of drugs in the area. Local said the incidents have disgraced the entire Badrukhan village.

Family members of victims said the boys contracted AIDS by using the untreated syringes thrown out by local hospitals.

Two years into the government, CM Capt Amarinder Singh has failed to control the drug menace. Singh had promised that he will break the supply chain of narcotics within a period of four weeks.

Not just narcotics, Punjab youths are now facing the threat of AIDS and HCV too.

More than 6,000 people have died of AIDS in the past 11 years in Punjab. 460 new cases were registered in 2017. 67 drug addicts died of drug overdose in the state between 2017 and 2019.

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