World AIDS Day: 54,000 At High Risk Of AIDS In MP, Says NACO Report

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Indore, Jabalpur and Bhopal have the highest number of AIDS cases in Madhya Pradesh, says the National AIDS Control Organisation’s (NACO) latest report.

As per the report, other districts with a significant presence of high-risk population or case concentration are Dewas, Ujjain, Neemuch, Mandsaur and Burhanpur. The high-risk population includes sexually active individuals and other groups, with the age group of 25-34 years having the highest number of cases in the state. 

With 54,000 people at high risk of AIDS, the prevalence rate is 0.43 per cent for age group 15-49 in Madhya Pradesh and 3.2 lakh people are living with HIV, according to the report. 

As per the Madhya Pradesh AIDS Control Society, in 2021 the prevalence rate was 0.08, while in 2023, it was 0.43 per cent. Hence, there is a rising trend of HIV cases in Madhya Pradesh, which is worrisome. Over 4,000 new infections were reported in just six months (from July to December 2024), especially in areas like Malwa-Nimar. 

Madhya Pradesh has 53, 455 female sex workers (FSW) and 18,085 male sex workers (MSW).  Indore has more female sex workers than other cities, but the most surprising fact is that there are more gay people there. In homosexual cases, Gwalior is second, Jabalpur third and Bhopal at number four.

The primary mode of transmission is unsafe sexual contact, which accounts for 87% of the reported cases in the state. The 25-34 age group has the highest number of HIV cases.

The number of injecting drug users (IDUs) or people who are intoxicated through injection syringes has been recorded at about 8,000. The maximum number of people belonging to the IDU category is 1303 in Jabalpur district, 1223 in Bhopal and 1089 in Rewa.