As many as 57 new suspected cases of HIV were detected here on Saturday days after the first batch of victims.
Out of the cases, 43 were children while 13 were women. A total of 1548 people was screened. A large number of suspected people who had come here for blood screening were women and children.
As many as six counters were established in villages near Ratodero taluka to screen people on the 14th consecutive day in a row. Out of the total, as many as 1,118 people were screened at a local hospital.
In a camp in Tayab Village, as many as 198 people were screened. Of them, a six-year-old boy was tested HIV positive whereas, in Subhani Shar Village, 250 cases were screened while six were detected HIV positive.
Sindh Health Secretary, Saeed Ahmed Awan, visited one such camp and said that over 3,000 people had been screened, out of which 226 had tested HIV positive.
The official highlighted that after re-checking, 113 cases were confirmed and treatment of 88 infected children was underway.
He blamed malpractice by quacks and some qualified doctors on top of lack of awareness for the outbreak of HIV in Ratodero.
A joint strategy was also said to be devised by the health department, National AIDS Control Programme and international donors including Global Fund, WHO, UNICEF to keep the virus under control and provide treatment to the victims.
He clarified that the detected cases were still suspected while more tests would be conducted for confirmation before treatment.
On May 8, Directorate General of Health Services Hyderabad said in a summary that 221 HIV positive cases had been detected in Ratodero out of a total of 5,224 screened between April 25 and May 8. Those tested included 124 male and 97 female victims.
He maintained that 13 cases were aged up to one year, 126 cases between two and five years, 47 cases between six and 15 years, 33 between 14 and 45 years and two 46 or older.
All the cases were detected through the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) carried out by Sindh AIDS Control Programme, the DG added.
For Shikarpur, District Health Officer Dr Shabeer Ahmed Shaikh remarked on Friday that 11 people, 10 children and one adult, were tested positive after blood screening of several persons in as many as eight villages during the past three weeks.
Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Rahim Bux Metlo claimed that over 100 illegal dispensaries, maternity homes and laboratories had been sealed in Shikarpur, Khanpur, Garhi Yaseen and Lakhi towns as a part of the ongoing crackdown against quacks and unregistered medical stores.
Last month, a doctor named Muzaffar Ghangharo was also arrested with reference to the increasing number of HIV cases in Sindh.
Disputing the alarming allegations against him, Dr Ghanghar termed the case a “conspiracy” and asserted he was not aware of his own condition.
“The Sindh Healthcare Commission is conspiring against me. If I had known about [HIV/AIDS] then I would have sought treatment. I did not experience any pain,” he added.
The fresh cases have taken the overall toll of victims to 338 in 13 days, sending shock waves across the country. Round 80 per cent of the victims are children.
So far, approximately 9,000 people have been screened for the deadly HIV virus.
However, every resident of Ratodero now wishes to get themselves and their children screened for the peace of their heart. Fear has pervaded all hearts of locals due to the sudden outbreak of a large number of HIV cases in their hometown.
The positive cases in a town of about 3,00,000 are being sent to HIV/AIDS Treatment & Care in Larkana for reconfirmation, which is also getting increasingly overwhelmed.
According to many patients, proper facilities and arrangements had not yet been made at Larkana Centre, which should be made urgently.
They also complained that medicines were not being provided to them and they were procuring drugs from the open market.
