KARACHI: A three-year-old girl has tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Karachi, taking the total number of infected children in Orangi Town to 107.
The girl is a resident of Orangi Town. According to her family, the infection was confirmed after she tested positive in three separate laboratory tests. The results showed positive findings on the Rapid Detect, Uni-Gold, and HIV Combo (Ag/Ab) tests.
The parents said the child had received treatment at the Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security SITE Hospital, commonly known as Valika Hospital. They said that her health began to deteriorate after the treatment, prompting them to have her tested for HIV.
The latest case comes amid an ongoing investigation into an HIV outbreak involving children who received treatment at the government-run Valika Hospital in Karachi’s SITE Town.
According to health authorities, 107 children from Orangi Town have so far tested positive for HIV, while the death toll among infected children in Zia Colony has risen to nine.
Several affected families have stated that hospital staff reused syringes on multiple children, resulting in the spread of the virus.
In February, Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal has publicly stated that the outbreak was caused by the reuse of contaminated syringes at the Valika Hospital.
Meanwhile, addressing the National Assembly on June 10, the minister said the government had banned five types of syringes following a rise in HIV/AIDS cases across the country. He said reports of increasing HIV infections had also emerged from Islamabad and Taunsa in Punjab.
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The minister told lawmakers that approximately 366,000 people in Pakistan are living with HIV/AIDS and said the disease is treatable if diagnosed and managed properly.
He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a special committee to help curb the spread of HIV, while the federal government was working with provincial authorities to strengthen prevention and control measures.