Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Friday expressed concerns over the rising cases of HIV/AIDS in the state and said only proper education and awareness can curb the spike in this dreaded disease.
Sharing data, the Chief Minister said, “Till October this year, the total number of HIV AIDS cases stands at 5,269. The number of women infected by the viral disease is 1,022, while the number of male patients stands at 4,246. One transgender person is also infected. The most dangerous trend that we have noticed is that 575 patients are students.”
Emphasising the state government’s efforts to provide proper treatment to the infected patients, Dr Saha said, “Testing and counselling are two key aspects which can help detect the HIV cases, which is why in 24 state hospitals, integrated counselling and testing centres have been installed. Apart from that, multiple other steps have been taken to make people more aware about the disease.”
Dr Saha was speaking at the annual World’s AIDS Day event at Agartala. Data shared by Tripura AIDS Control Society further shed light on the gradually worsening situation. According to the AIDS Society, on average, 150 to 200 new cases are detected every month. West Tripura District, the most urban region in Tripura, has reported as many as 1,594 cases till October.
Dhalai district comes second with 906 cases and North Tripura, which used to top the table for many years, now stands at the third position with 763 cases. The other districts have also contributed on a decent scale with 415 cases in Unakoti, 542 in Khowai, 412 in Gomati District, 334 in Sepahijala and 238 in South Tripura District. Twenty-nine AIDS patients from other states are living in Tripura.
Fifteen NGOs and two link workers schemes are working among 5,928 registered women sex workers, 853 homosexuals, 6,473 migrant labourers, 3,450 truck drivers, 96 transgender persons and 8,073 drug addicts who use injectable drugs. Four one-stop centres are working exclusively for these people.
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Among the injectable drug users, 2,545 persons have been detected as HIV positive. The AIDS Control Society has been working with 5,267 injectable drug users to bring them back into mainstream life. They are regularly receiving Opioid Substitution Therapy from the OST centres. A total of 430 people have been cured so far through this therapy. The Society also revealed that 2,031 HIV AIDS patients are receiving a monthly cash assistance of Rs 2,000 per month.
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