Himachal has 5,764 HIV patients, 1,562 in Kangra alone: State body
Out of the total 5,764 HIV patients, 53.5 per cent (3,087) are male and 46.3 per cent (2,672) are female. There are five transgenders living with HIV in the state.
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Graphic representation of HIV prevalence in Himachal Pradesh. There are a total of 5,764 HIV patients in Himachal Pradesh, and over 50 per cent of them are in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi and Una, according to the state AIDS Control Society.
“Kangra, Hamirpur and Mandi are the most populated areas. That is one of the reasons why maximum patients are in these districts. Earlier, Hamipur district had the maximum HIV patients, followed by Kangra. Additionally, many tourist places where the movement of tourists is more are in these districts,” said an official with the Himachal Pradesh AIDS Control Society.
As many as 1,562 patients are in Kangra district, followed by 1,037 in Hamirpur district, 738 in Mandi district and 636 in Una district. Shimla has 306 patients. Lahaul & Spiti district has the least number of HIV patients, i.e. seven.
Out of the total 5,764 HIV patients, 53.5 per cent (3,087) are male and 46.3 per cent (2,672) are female. There are five transgenders living with HIV in the state.
While 2,877 patients belong to the 31-45 year age group, 1,240 are from the 16-30 year age group, followed by 1,218 from the 46-60 year age group. As many as 293 patients belong to the 0-15 year age group and 136 patients are from the 61-75 year age group.
There are 165 boys and 128 girls in the 0-15 age group of HIV patients, 683 males and 556 females in the 16-30 age group, 1,464 males and 1,410 females in the 31-45 age group, 694 males and 523 females in the 46-60 year age group. There are seven Integrated Antiretroviral Therapy Centres (ATCs) providing treatment to the People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in the state.
Discussing the vulnerable sections, the officer of the state AIDS Control Society said, “Truck drivers, taxi drivers, sex workers are most vulnerable to AIDS. The injecting drug users (IDU) have been emerging most vulnerable behind the transmission of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among youths in the last many years. Days are gone when unprotected sexual intercourse was considered the main reason behind the spreading of the disease.”
Rajiv Kumar, project director, HP State AIDS Control Society, said, “To make the new generation aware of this disease, we decided to hold HIV/AIDS awareness programme on International Youth Day today. Himachal Pradesh is a low prevalence state in terms of HIV patients.”
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