In Pakistan, police have arrested a doctor accused of inoculating at least 90 patients, including 65 children, with the AIDS virus. The man, himself HIV-positive, proclaims his innocence.
When a visit to the doctor turns into a tragedy. In Pakistan, in the province of Sindh in the South of the country, at least 90 people, including 65 children, were infected with HIV after being pricked by a contaminated syringe. “We have arrested a doctor,” announced the police chief of Larkana, the municipality where this disaster took place. “According to the health authorities, he was injecting drugs with a single syringe,” said Dr Azra Pechuho, Sindh’s health minister. The man in question, himself HIV-positive, denies the charges against him.
The investigation began last week after 18 children living in the suburbs of Larkana tested positive for HIV. The health authorities then launched a broader screening campaign. In total, “more than 90 people”, including 65 children, have been diagnosed with HIV, according to a health official in the district of Lakana. As for the parents of the infected children, they are not sick, specifies Azra Pechuho.
According to a police document, a clinic is “the source of the spread of the disease”, but it is not clear whether the arrested doctor worked there. Health officials in the region also announced that they had closed more than twenty premises run by “charlatans”, fearing that the reuse of poorly sterilized syringes could be the cause of infections. Because these doctors practicing without training or diploma and providing care at unbeatable prices are unfortunately very numerous and highly acclaimed in Pakistan, a country with an almost non-existent health system. While waiting to know more, the investigation continues, declared Dr Sikandar Ali, manager of the program for the control of the AIDS in the area of Sindh, in the Telegram.
In Pakistan, 20,000 new cases of AIDS are diagnosed each year
While Pakistan is relatively unaffected by HIV overall, it can be found among drug users, prostitutes and migrant workers returning from Gulf countries. Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its concern about the subject. With 20,000 new cases per year, Pakistan has indeed become the country where the virus is spreading the fastest.
According to the latest government figures, only 16% of the 150,000 people officially infected have been diagnosed and of these, 9% have access to treatment. As for the remaining 135,000 patients, they “roam from community to community, likely to infect others, even their unborn babies,” warned Dr. Saima Paracha of the National HIV Control Program last year.
AIDS around the world
Globally, 36.9 million people were living with HIV in 2017, according to sida-info.org. In the same year, 940,000 people died of illnesses linked to the virus. As for France, in 2017, approx. 6,400 people discovered their HIV statusa figure that has not decreased since 2010, according to the latest HIV surveillance report from Public Health France.
Among the people diagnosed in 2017, 3,600 (56%) were contaminated during heterosexual intercourse, 2,600 (41%) during intercourse between men and 130 (2%) by injection drug use. Among heterosexuals, those most affected were born abroad (75%)mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, 52% of discoveries of seropositivity concern people who have never been tested before. And Public Health France to conclude: “these figures underline the importance of HIV testing”. Remember that regular screening for bacterial STDs is also essential for a fulfilling and risk-free sex life.
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