Agartala: Senior Microbiologist and HoD, Department of Microbiology, at Agartala Government Medical College, Dr. Tapan Majumder, has said that the state referral laboratory located at GBP Hospital reports 5 to 15 HIV-positive cases every day out of around 150 samples tested on average.
Admitting that the numbers are exorbitantly high compared to the national average, Dr. Majumder said, “Five years back, our laboratory used to receive 20 to 25 samples per day. We could have hardly gotten five to seven positive cases in one month. But now, things have changed. Almost every working day, 150 samples come into the laboratory, and at least five cases are found positive, while if the cases are on the higher side, there are days when even 15 samples were detected HIV positive.”
The senior virologist also stated that in most cases, the age of the victim ranges between 19 to 25 years, and 99 percent of the victims are addicted to injectable drugs. “The patients are not at all cooperative. Once they know about their health condition, they don’t turn up for follow-up treatment,” said Dr. Majumder.
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On the treatment side, he said, “A strategy of 95-95-95 is considered very effective in such cases. The basic theory is that 95 percent of the HIV-infected patients across the state should know their health condition. Of them, 95 percent should be brought under the ambit of treatment, and of them, 95 percent should lead a healthy life. Healthy life here means the lifespan of the HIV patient should be on the higher side, and the viral load should be suppressed all his life.”
Apart from that, Dr. Majumder also informed the media persons that his department has been shouldering the responsibility of carrying out a number of Central Government Programs on antibiotic resistance, acquired infection surveillance, etc.
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