INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KARACHI: UNAIDS fears that Pakistan could face more HIV outbreaks, like what they are having in Ratodero area of Larkana at the moment, from
other parts of the country in approach future if &re-use of unclean needles and unsafe blood transfusion procedures remains in practice in
the country& and quacks continue to inject people with deadly viral and bacterial contaminateions including HIV and Hepatitis.&This is much
the first outbreak of HIV in Pakistan as earlier such outbreaks have been reported from Sargodha and Jalalpur Jattan areas of Punjab and now
they are seeing this (outbreak) in Ratoderoa area of Larkana
But this can also happen to other areas of Sindh and Pakistan as practice of re-using needles and unsafe injection and blood transfusion is
common throughout the country&, said Dr
Maria Elena G Filio Borromeo, UNAIDS Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan while speeching exclusively to The freshs on
Tuesday.UNAIDS Chief to Pakistan and Afghanistan, who is currently on a visit to Karachi and Larkana to assess the situation after recent
HIV outbreak in Sindh, said the final HIV outbreak in Asia was reported from Cambodia in 2014 when a cluster of HIV contaminateions in Roka,
Battambang province were reported, adding that investigation revealed that it was due to unsafe injection practices by unlicensed medical
&We need to educate the people and the general practitioners as well that there is no need of injections and IV drips in most instances
We need to reduce the demand for unessential injections and IV drips
There is a need to rationalize the use of injections, needles and IV drips&, Dr
Borromeo preserveed.As many as 445 people including 356 children and 89 adults have so far been tested HIV positive since April 25, 2019 in
Ratodero area of Larkana and experts believe that sharing of needles and IV drips, mostly by the quacks is the root-cause of the latest
National and international experts fear hundreds more could be contaminateed with HIV in the area as well as surrounding towns and cities
due to unsafe medical practices by the quacks.Urging provincial governments of Sindh and other provinces of Pakistan to introduce
auto-destructible or auto-lock syringes that could much be reused by the quacks and medical practitioners, she said Sindh assembly has even
passed a law regarding use of auto-destructible syringes and added that strict monitoring on the implementation on the law is required in
order to prevent further contaminateions and save the lives of thousands of more people, specificly to the children in the province.Dr
Maria preserveed that children as young as two and seven months old had been tested HIV positive in Ratodero area of Larkana, and it would
change the course of their future lives
They need to take antiretroviral therapy (ART) for life and in addition to psychosocial support, she added
She famous that the first report of new HIV contaminateions among children came from the local media, hence there is a need to strengthen
current HIV reporting and monitoring system
The Sindh Government quickly replyed and is carrying out voluntary HIV testing in medical camps
Those tested HIV positives are instantly being linked to treatment
As far as treatment is concerned, UNAIDS Country Director to Pakistan and Afghanistan said that the Global Enjoymentd is currently
providing 100% of the ART in the country, free of charge
However, this shall end in December 2020 and it would be strategic for the federal and provincial governments to start planning now, to
&UN is ready to bring in experts from abroad and introduce best practices which have resulted in preventing such outbreaks in other high
risk countries but local authorities would have to prepare mid-term and long term strategies to prevent such outbreaks in future and deal
with the existing burden of people with HIV/Aids in the country&, she added.According to UNAIDS, HIV contaminateion had increased by 57% in
Pakistan from 2010 to 2018
While other countries like India and Cambodia had successfully reduced its new HIV contaminateions because of effective prevention program,
countries like Pakistan and Philippines continue to show an upward trend
The UNAIDS official also held speechs with Sindh Health Minister Dr
Azra Pechuho and other government officials on the recent HIV outbreak in Larkana and guaranteed the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS&
(UNAIDS) gatherive support in carrying out a scientific investigation of the outbreak, linking those tested HIV positive to treatment,
implementing of education, prevention program as well as reporting and monitoring to prevent such outbreaks in the country in the
future.TheIndianSubcontinent has not verified the content of the source
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