Shimla reported 119 new HIV-positive cases during the previous financial year, including 88 men, 30 women and one transgender person.
District AIDS Programme Officer Dr Tahseen said the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimates that 546 people are living with HIV in Shimla district.
He urged people at risk to undergo HIV testing without delay and called for an end to the stigma surrounding the disease.
Shimla has seven Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) at IGMC, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Theog, Rohru, Rampur and Sunni hospitals, where confirmatory HIV testing is available.
Besides helping patients overcome addiction, the centre also lowers the risk of HIV and Hepatitis B and C by reducing injection drug use and provides treatment and follow-up care free of cost.
Shimla: Injectable drug abuse is emerging as a key driver of HIV and Hepatitis B and C infections among young people in Himachal Pradesh, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap said on Saturday, urging parents to remain alert to signs of substance abuse as health authorities step up efforts to detect undiagnosed infections.
“Young people addicted to drugs are contracting HIV through shared syringes. Parents should ensure their children are not using injectable drugs. Addiction is a disease, and those trying to quit need the support of their families and society,” Kashyap said while chairing a review meeting on HIV prevention and control.
Shimla reported 119 new HIV-positive cases during the previous financial year, including 88 men, 30 women and one transgender person. Another 17 infections have been detected in the current financial year so far, involving 12 men, three women and two transgender persons.
District AIDS Programme Officer Dr Tahseen said the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimates that 546 people are living with HIV in Shimla district. Health teams have identified 441 individuals, while 105 people are yet to be diagnosed and linked to treatment, underscoring the need for wider testing and surveillance.
Kashyap said HIV does not spread through casual contact and stressed that early diagnosis, timely treatment and adherence to medication allow infected people to lead healthy lives. He urged people at risk to undergo HIV testing without delay and called for an end to the stigma surrounding the disease.
The district reviewed progress under the national 95-95-95 HIV strategy, which seeks to ensure that most people living with HIV know their status, receive antiretroviral therapy and achieve viral suppression to reduce further transmission.
Shimla has seven Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) at IGMC, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Theog, Rohru, Rampur and Sunni hospitals, where confirmatory HIV testing is available.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Yashpal Ranta said the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) Centre at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, is providing medically supervised treatment, counselling and psychosocial support to people addicted to opioids such as heroin, smack and chitta. Besides helping patients overcome addiction, the centre also lowers the risk of HIV and Hepatitis B and C by reducing injection drug use and provides treatment and follow-up care free of cost.
