Number of HIV / AIDS patients in Pakistan crosses 1.5 lakh

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Islamabad: The number of HIV / AIDS patients in Pakistan is currently 165,000. The National AIDS Control Program (NACP) gave this information and also said that 9,565 new cases were reported this year. “Only 36,902 people are registered with the NACP, of which about 20,994 are undergoing treatment,” The Express Tribune quoted NACP data on Monday.
6,426 people were exposed to the disease after being injected with an infectious syringe.

The data said that 18,220 male and 4,170 female patients, including 546 children and 426 girls, are registered in the NACP.

During the year, 895 cases of AIDS were reported in Rato Dero, a small area in Larkana town of Sindh alone. Of which 754 are children and 141 are adults.

Symptoms and causes of HIV

From April to November 30, approximately 37,558 people underwent HIV screening in Larkana, out of which 1,195 found the suspected presence of infectious germs.

The NACP data further states that at the end of 2018, the number of registered AIDS affected patients was 23,757, of which 15,821 are undergoing treatment.

On the other hand, according to a report released last year by the United Nations AIDS Control Program, the number of AIDS patients in Pakistan has increased alarmingly in the last two decades.

HIV / AIDS is spreading like a pandemic in Pakistan, the report revealed

The estimated number of patients during the year 2000 was just 500, which increased to more than 160,000. By 2000, the total number of deaths due to the disease was only 100, which reached 6,400 in 2018.

In 2000, the number of patients registered for AIDS in Pakistan was 200, which increased to 22,000 in 2018.

According to the report, 14 percent of AIDS patients are aware of this disease, but 10 percent of patients are being self-treated. More than 48,000 of the 160,000 patients were women.