As many as 10 new HIV positive cases were reported from Taluka Headquarters Hospital (THQ) on Wednesday.
The total number of cases so far has now risen to 866.
Health officials said that 711 of the HIV victims were children and 155 were adults. However, according the Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP), no new cases were found at Naundero, Banguldero, Lashari, Pir Bux Bhutto and Garhi Yasin.
A total of 29,956 people from the general population have so far been screened since April 25 in Ratodero and in the adjoining villages.
Meanwhile, Dr Hola Ram, the in-charge, HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Center, Larkana, said that out of 116 adults referred to the center, 111 had been confirmed as HIV positive.
Meanwhile, three-year-old Alisha, daughter of Muhammad Ali Soomro, died on Wednesday. She had earlier been diagnosed with the disease.
In a group discussion, Dr Sharaf Ali Shah, the former SACP Provincial Programme manager, said that HIV screening camps were not required at all as these camps had rather complicated the whole issue.
“HIV counseling and testing is not a one time activity. It is a continuous process. In our setting and current situation, the best strategy will be care-provider based HIV counseling and testing. The care-provider, after doing risk assessment in individual case, can refer a client for HIV testing. Voluntary HIV counseling and testing has been tried in our country, but has failed. The main reason is the low literacy rate and lack of health education. We have to follow a set protocol to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of patients. Pre-test and post-test counseling is necessary for all patients. Moreover, its responsibility of SACP to monitor whole process starting from testing kits used to testing strategies,” he added.
“Any NGO or other organisation that wants to offer HIV tests in the community should get permission of SACP,” Shah said. “If tests are performed without SACP permission, the data generated through this process will have a lot of mistakes. I visited Ratodero on Sunday and after discussions with stakeholders, found a lot of problems with available data such as disproportionally more children have been tested. I was told most of men including parents of HIV positive children are refusing HIV testing,” he said.
“I was also informed there is a lot of duplication, many children have been tested several times with different names and HIV testing results have been given on the basis of single screening test without confirmation according to approved protocol. In initial days, five to seven hundred people were tested in a single day. How was it possible to manage so many tests at one centre? Moreover, confidentiality and privacy of the clients have not been maintained,” Shah said.
“These issues need to be investigated and we assure SACP of our full support
I know these HIV testing camps have been organised with good intentions, but the strategy is wrong. This has created chaos in the community and created huge demand for which comprehensive planning is required such as arrangements for treatment care and support which are still not in place. All credit goes to the doctors of Chandka Children Hospital who opened the ward at Larkana and helped in registering cases, running ART clinic and dealing all HIV cases. Doctors of children hospital did a wonderful job by practical counselling to families with HIV positive children especially regarding treatment to bring them back to health,” Shah added.
