Tripura HIV cases are tip of the iceberg: Experts

Even as the Government of Tripura issued a clarification on misleading reports of HIV cases in the state health experts on Wednesday said that it ldquois just the tip of the icebergrdquoEarlier this month a senior official from the Tripura AIDS Control Society TSACS claimed that 828 students tested HIV positive in Tripura and 47 of them died The official stated that 572 of the students are still alive while many also left the state for higher educationIn a post on the social media platform Xcom the Health amp Family Welfare Department of the Tripura Government called it ldquomisleadingrdquoldquoThe total figures are cumulative from April 2007 to May 2024rdquo it saidAccording to TSACS officials the spike in HIV cases could have stemmed from injectable drug abuse among studentsSpeaking to IANS Dr Ishwar Gilada a noted HIV expert said that it ldquois just the tip of the iceberg whether you consider only HIV infection or other infections that can be easily transmitted through injection drug use IDUrdquoIDU is known to have a quicker and stronger effect than drugs that are swallowed smoked or inhaledDr Gilada stated that in addition to HIV HepatitisC HepatitisB and syphilis among others also get easily transmitted through IDU rather more efficiently than HIVldquoIn addition to sharing needles IDUs have another risk in sizable proportion that is indiscriminate sex and that too unprotected That further fuels the spread of other STIs as well as HIV infectionrdquo the expert saidDr Basavaraj S Kumbar Consultant Internal Medicine Aster Whitefield Hospital Bengaluru called the incident of losing 47 young people and having hundreds more infected ldquoa terrible tragedyrdquoldquoThe issue also raises concerns on the usage of injectable drugs and should serve as a commercial for not doing thisrdquo he told IANSHIV is a devastating disease It is a serious infection that erodes the quality of life by impairing the immune system thus making its victims susceptible to opportunistic infections besides other health complicationsldquoAlthough modern medicine makes it possible for individuals with HIV to live long and productive lives it requires consistent medications and monitoring by medical experts The virus weakens the bodyrsquos immunities thereby exposing people to attacks from other diseasecausing agents This is a lifetime strugglerdquo Dr Kumbar saidMeanwhile Dr Gilada a Consultant in HIVSTDs Unison Medicare and Research Centre Mumbai called on the state health authorities for a ldquocomprehensive look and checkup of all children and to deal efficiently with each infectionrdquoldquoThe major HIV awareness and prevention campaigns that were seen during 20002010 in India are now missing The children born during that period and afterwards now grown up to teenage and adulthood have escaped prevention campaigns and now thus become victims of HIV and other STIsldquoThere is poor thrust on diagnosis prevention and treatment of other STIs All these have fuelled new infections all over India More than 70 per cent of new infections are in marginalised communities which face an extreme degree of stigma and discriminationrdquo the doctor notedDr Kumbar said that prevention is key and stressed the need to educate young people about the dangers of drugs and reinforce the message of unsafe injection practicesldquoMaking sure they have access to support systems and positive outlets for their energy is also important If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction please seek help Counselling and rehabilitation centres can provide the support needed to overcome addiction and live a healthy liferdquo he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever