Varanasi: Nearly 900 people tested positive for HIV in Varanasi between January and October this year, with a significant proportion of cases reported among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 45 years.
Of the total cases, 728 were detected at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Hospital, while 175 people tested positive at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay District Hospital. The figures indicate a higher number of infections among people living in urban areas.
Health officials have identified sharing syringes for drug use, unprotected sexual contact and getting tattoos with improperly sterilised needles as some of the possible routes of HIV transmission.
Government hospitals conduct free HIV and hepatitis tests, with around 120 people undergoing screening daily. The district hospital's Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre screens an average of 60 people a day, while testing is also conducted at BHU Hospital.
Patients who test positive are counselled and provided treatment according to established protocols. They are also given regular medication and called for follow-up examinations.
30 people contract HIV after sharing syringes
At the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) centre at the district hospital, 30 people who shared syringes while using drugs tested positive for HIV over the past two years. Two women among them have died, while the others continue to receive medication and counselling at scheduled intervals.
Prem Prakash Srivastava, a counsellor at the centre, said people who inject drugs accounted for around 35 per cent of the HIV-positive cases reported to the centre.
Of the 728 people who tested positive at BHU Hospital between January and September, around 150 were from Varanasi. More than 550 others came from neighbouring districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mau, Chandauli, Sonbhadra and Bhadohi, as well as Bihar and other areas.
Among the patients from outside Varanasi, a substantial number were aged between 17 and 50 years, highlighting the need for greater awareness and preventive interventions among young and middle-aged people.
District Tuberculosis Officer Dr Piyush Kumar Rai said free HIV testing was available at designated centres and detailed reports were compiled every month.
"People who test positive are counselled, and further treatment is provided according to established protocols," he said.
District Hospital Chief Medical Superintendent Dr Prem Prakash said patients who tested positive over the past 10 months were receiving regular counselling and medicines as required.
"Adolescents and young adults are given special counselling. They are educated about preventive measures, including avoiding drug use through shared syringes and ensuring that tattooing is done with properly sterilised equipment," he said.
