The Sindh Health Services Hyderabad director general, in a summary on Monday, confirmed that from April 25, 2019 to May 18, 2019, as many as 571 HIV positive cases had been detected in Ratodero taluka, of which 279 (48.9%) were males and 292 (51.1%) females.
The summary revealed that most of the affected people were aged between two and five years of age (315 cases, or 51.1%), followed by age group between six and 15 years (106 cases, or 18.6%). As many as 93 people aged between 15 and 45 years (16.3%) were found to be infected with the virus, while only 14 infected people were above that age bracket. The summary further added that all cases were found to be positive following the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) by the Sindh AIDS Control Programme.
Meanwhile, 35 new HIV positive cases were detected in Ratodero and other RHCs and BHUs, including those in Banguldero, Naundero, Bosan and Waris Dino Machi, bringing the total to 607 out of 20,217 people screened so far.
On the other hand, a lecture was arranged at Paeds Medicine Department of Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on the subject of “HIV disease: Myth and Facts”, which was participated by a large number of doctors. The lecture was delivered by Dr Fizza S Gillani and Dr Syed Iftikhar Hussain via satellite from the US. It was followed by group discussion by the doctors. The lecture was organised by Dr Farooq Rahman Soomro, former focal person on HIV/AIDS, District Government, Larkana, with the collaboration of CMC Children’s Hospital Head of Department Prof Dr Saifullah Jamro and Jinnah Sindh Medical University Alumni Association of North America (JSMUAANA). The lecture covered topics like introduction to HIV/AIDS, definition, signs, symptoms, clinical diagnosis, prevention, awareness, epidemiology and method of treatment, followed by a question-answer session. The second lecture of the series will be held on May 26 on “HIV Stigma and Patient-Provider Communications”. Dr Fizza S Gillani and Dr Syed Iftikhar Hussain are professors of HIV/AIDS in Brown University, USA.
