LARKANA: The number of HIV positive cases is rising in Larkana as 102 new HIV cases have been registered at HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Centre during last two months.
According to facts and figures collected by Daily Times on Monday, previously on April 09, the number of such patients was 1,545 and presently, the registered patients were 1,647. Larkana is on the top of the list, because 782 HIV patients are from there, 245 from Kambar-Shahdadkot, 162 from Dadu, 156 from Khairpur Mirs, 75 from Shikarpur, 64 from Sukkur, 41 from Jacobabad, 33 from Naushehro Feroze,, 31 from Kandhkot and Kashmore, 21 from Ghotki, 15 from Jamshoro, 5 from Nawabshah, 7 from Jaffarabad, 1 each from Khuzdar, Panjgore, Kalat and Hyderabad, 3 each from Nasirabad and Karachi. Out of a total of 1,647, as many as 1,308 are males, 293 are females, 16 children and 15 are transgender. As many as 889 patients are on HAART and 33 have defaulted.
In 2007 there were only eight patients in Larkana. Since then the patients are increasing rapidly. As many as 173 have also been infected with Hepatitis C out of which 156 are males and 17 females. As many as 21 other patients have also been affected by Hepatitis B out of which 17 are males, three females and one transgender.
Dr. Ghulam Shabir Shaikh, Associate Professor of Pathology, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU), Larkana, told Daily Times on Monday that there were only seven qualified pathologists in Larkana who could not check or supervise each and every blood bank and laboratory. He added that government has posted Blood Transfusion Officers; but they also failed working properly due to political involvement. He said that main reason of the HIV disease was supply of impure and unchecked blood to patients. He told reuse of syringes by quacks and Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs) was also another basic reason for spreading the disease.
Published in Daily Times, June 20th, 2017.
