Haldwani:

According to the ART (Antiretroviral Therapy) Center for HIV in Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani of Nainital, 31 HIV patients are turning up every month, which is a matter of great concern. Apart from the government and the health department, many social organisations have also been running awareness campaigns against HIV.

 In the last 15 months, 477 new cases of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) have been reported in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. These include 370 men, 98 women, eight children and a transgender person. About 38 inmates of the Haldwani Jail have tested positive. It has been observed that most of the positive cases are drug abusers.

Dr Vaibhav Kumar, nodal officer of the ART center at Sushila Tiwari Hospital, said, "All HIV infected patients are treated here. Due to the continued awareness campaign, HIV cases are being reported in greater numbers than earlier. Many people who hid the disease are now turning up for treatment."

Data from 2010 to March 2025 of Sushila Tiwari Hospital revealed that 4,824 HIV positive cases were reported, of which 880 patients have died, while 450 patients have been transferred. Presently, 2,536 patients are undergoing treatment while 816 are out of it.

The data further revealed that Haldwani Jail, the largest in Kumaon Division, has 38 HIV positive inmates, including one female. All are currently undergoing treatment at the ART Center.

"If it is not treated on time, it can turn serious, leading to fatality. In such a situation, if you have ever had unsafe sex or have been hospitalised and these symptoms are visible in your body, then you should immediately get tested for AIDS," Kumar added. "There can also be the risk of contracting HIV due to unsafe sex. Most of the HIV infected persons are young. Seriously ill patients are treated here for free. We have the option of home treatment by sending doctors to the patient, so that they can be saved with on-time treatment," Kumar added.

Initially, an HIV positive person shows symptoms like high fever, perspiration, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea and itching in the body.

Kumar said most of the HIV patients are drug addicts, and it has been observed that many of them take intravenous drugs through the same syringe, risking AIDS infection.

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