Officials of Communicable Diseases Control have said that Karachi’s central district has reported the highest number of HIV cases in Sindh.
In a report published by SAMAA Digital on Monday, deputy director of the Directorate General Health Service, Dr Irshad Kazmi was quoted as saying that 2,725 cases of HIV were reported from the central district alone.
Larkana reported the second-highest number of cases and Hyderabad lies in third place.
According to data shared by SAMAA Digital, in August 2021, 15,952 people in Sindh tested positive for HIV, of which 2,522 were women, 1,971 children, and 454 transgender persons.
“One of the major reasons behind the increasing number of HIV transmissions are quacks who are involved in the usage of unsafe injections and contaminated medical equipment,” Dr Kazmi was quoted as saying.
In 2019, Larkana’s Ratodero witnessed an HIV outbreak in children and the news not only shook Pakistan but also made international headlines.
“Treatment of these patients is underway at 16 Antiretroviral Therapy centres run by the Sindh Health Department,” the deputy director told SAMAA Digital. “We intend to initiate the ‘Know Your Status’ campaign to raise awareness among people to get tested.”
