By Abdul Razak Shaikh,
Ringing bells for a healthcare emergency in Sindh, 50 HIV cases have emerged in Ratodero Larkana, during the last three months. The majority of the affected are children. According to a local reporting source, the kids are aged between eight months to five years.
About 35 kids have HIV positive in the last 19 days. Doctors serving in the area are concerned about the situation, while also highlighting that people are unable to avail qualitative healthcare services due to poverty.
HIV is also recognized as a health concern in Pakistan with the number of cases growing. Moderately high drug use and lack of acceptance that non-marital sex is common in the society to have allowed the HIV epidemic to take hold in Pakistan, mainly among injection drug users (IDU), male, female and transvestite sex workers (MSW, FSW, and TSW) as well as the repatriated migrant workers. HIV infection can lead to AIDS that may become a major health issue.
In Pakistan National, AIDS Control Programme was established in 1986-87 with a focus on the diagnosis of cases that came to hospitals but progressively began to shift towards a community focus. Since that The Government of Pakistan (GOP) has maintained a sustained response to the HIV epidemic through a close collaboration between the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), Provincial and AJK AIDS Control Programs, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, and a consortium of NGOs and civil society Organizations (CSOs), People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) representative organizations, operating at the national and provincial level.
Pakistan is the second largest country in South Asia that stands only a few steps behind India and Nepal in terms of the HIV epidemic. Despite many efforts, HIV the infection rate has increased significantly over
The past few years and in fact, the country has moved from a low prevalence to the concentrated epidemic with HIV prevalence of more than 5% among injecting the drug users (IDUs) in at least eight major cities.
Other high-risk groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM), hijra sex workers (HSWs) and female sex workers (FSWs), also look set to reach this threshold level. Many bridging populations, totaling almost five a million persons, are indirect sexual contact with these groups and are exposed to HIV infection through unprotected sexual activity. The heterogeneity and interlinking of high risk injecting and sexual behavior, combined with low levels of HIV knowledge and prevention, and high levels of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), indicates that HIV could spread rapidly to marriage partners or sex clients and result in a generalized epidemic.
Approximately 50 HIV positive cases detected in three months in Ratodero, Larkana with an increased number of children.
The pathologist who heads the Peoples Primary Health Initiative in Jacobabad has revealed to the news source that in the blood samples of 16 children for HIV testing were sent to PPHI Sindh Laboratory.
Sixteen of the thirteen children have tested positive for HIV. The children are between the ages of eight months and five years.
Sources of Sindh Aids Control program has informed that tests for the HIV positive children and their parents would be retaken immediately.
Often these laboratories use kits from China which have a tendency to give false positive results. To verify these results we will use the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends kits. If there is an issue, then we will know about it.
According to an estimate, there were over 100,000 HIV positive people in Sindh, however, the Aids Control The programme has only 10,350 registered patients who are provided for treatment.
Another news source has revealed that 15 to 20 positive cases were detected at their private clinics in the last three months in Ratodero. Children aged between eight months to five years have been tested positive for HIV.
The news source also reveals that a number of 20 HIV positive people have expired recently.
The source claims the usage of HIV infected syringes is a major cause in the spread of infection among the children.
Officials say the HIV epidemic in Pakistan remains largely concentrated among the key populations, including people who inject drugs, the transgender community, sex workers and their clients and men who have sex with men.
As of yet, there is no HIV vaccine or cure, and infected people rely on lifelong anti-retroviral therapy to stop the virus replicating.
Without treatment, HIV-infected people go on to develop AIDS, a syndrome that weakens the immune system and leaves the body exposed to opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis, and some types of cancer.
Treatment carries side effects and is costly, but allows infected people to be healthier for longer. The Health Department Should take emergency measures to ban the usage of unnecessary injection and Quack must be withdrawn from the clinics.