New Delhi — The villagers of Unnao, in India’s northern state of UttarPradesh, are reportedly having sleepless nights after a compulsoryscreening drive launched by the local administration have found mostof them infected with HIV.
The screening drive is being conducted after authorities came to know thata quack had injected them with a common syringe that could have strainsof an HIV positive person’s blood.
The administration grew suspicious after they recorded a sudden spikein the number of HIV cases in a particular area of Unnao district. Atwo-member medical committee was formed to probe the case. Uponinvestigation, the committee came to know that all the reported casesof HIV had a common thread. They had all been treated by a particularquack, who is now in police custody and faces criminal charges.
Sidharth Nath Singh, health minister of Uttar Pradesh told media, “A quackwas giving the injection to the people. We are investigating the matter andaccused will be arrested soon as he has been identified. The persons whowere found to be infected are being treated at Kanpur Medical College.”
“Apart from the villagers, there could also be truck drivers who gotinfected as Unnao is one of the transit points where they dislodgeduring long-distance trips,” the minister added.
The transmission of HIV through infected syringes, especially among drugusers, has been on the increase, despite efforts by the Indian governmentto control such cases. According to Indian health ministry data,in 2014-15, the country recorded 3,518 cases of HIV infections dueto needles, which rose to 4,011 in 2016-17.
At present, India has an estimated 2.1 million people living with HIV. Toimprove detection, the government has started community-based testing for”at risk” populations and universal coverage of pregnant women for HIVtesting.