Nagpur: HIV cases on the rise in district

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HIV cases on the rise in district

14 Aug 2007, 0353 hrs IST , Shishir Arya , TNN

NAGPUR: There has been an alarming 60 per cent rise in the number of

HIV infected patients undergoing treatment at the government medical

college (GMC) here. While there were around 5,000 HIV-positive

patients until January, there has been a whopping 3,000 more cases in

the past six months alone.

A UNAIDS report released over six months ago had also mentioned that

while the trend of HIV is more or less stable or diminishing in the

rest of the country, it has shown a reverse trend in the region.

However, the figures at GMC are just the tip of the iceberg and

cannot determine the number of new infections. GMC is the only

medical set-up in the district to have a anti-retroviral therapy

(ART) centre.

There are similar centres in GMCs of Yavatmal and Akola. The ART

clinic in Nagpur also caters to the patients from neighbouring

Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh as well as Andhra Pradesh.

According to data available at ART clinic here, there were 5,200

patients in January 2007, which has grown close to 8,000 in July.

What is worrying is that since April, the number of HIV admissions

has risen to more than 400 in a month.

Over half the patients are from Nagpur city or nearby areas while the

rest are from other parts of district.

Head of the GMC's medicine department Dr Harsha Salkar, said better

road connectivity to the city has contributed to the problem due to

the influx of truckers, who are a high risk group.

Increasing awareness about the disease is also one of the reasons for

more patients coming forward for treatment, said a doctor.

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