LARKANA, March 17 (PPI) The Sindh Government’s Health Department has finally revealed the number of HIV positive registered cases, number of on-treatment cases and deaths in Larkana and Ratodero after suppressing the vital information from media persons for personal gains.
In a rebuttal letter issued by Dr. Muhammad Naeem, Additional Director, Communicable Disease Control (CDC), HIV / AIDS, Sindh, which has become viral on social media, he disclosed that the total number of Registered HIV child patients in Larkana is 702 out of which 591 are on treatment and 113 have died. He said that the total number of registered HIV positive children in Ratodero is 2189 out of which 2028 are on treatment and 105 have died since April 2019 till todate. In this way, he added, out of total 2189 registered HIV positive cases as many as 2028 are on treatment and 218 have died.
Dr. Imran Akbar Arbani, who detected the first outbreak in Ratodero, said Friday that 30% to 35% cases which are sent for blood screening are detected positive in a month, which is alarming. He said due to an increase in the number of positive cases, screening was reduced to show the performance as only one person is posted to work for screening in Ratodero who can carry out a few cases daily. He said that the affected patients are also looking for the supply of proper medicines for coinfections.
When this scribe talked to Imtiaz Jalbani whose two HIV positive daughters have died out of five positive children, he said that HIV treatment medicines are given to them but drugs prescribed for co-infections are denied hence procured by them from the open market being very poor labourer. He said that CD-4 and Viral Load Test facilities are also not being done which determine the treatment effects. He said commitments were made by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that parents of affected children will be provided jobs, free transport services and endowment funds etc which are still awaited despite passage of four long years.
Dr. Hola Ram who has retired after heading the HIV/AIDS Treatment Center of Chandka Hospital said that screening must be mandatory before marriage, quacks should be brought to justice, hairdressers should strictly follow the SOPs, blood transfusion should be strict, illegal blood banks should be sealed forthwith and mass awareness must also be made among villagers because prevention is better than management.
