Rapid rise in HIV cases linked to injecting drugs: Health Minister Keshab Mahanta

GUWAHATI: Health Minister Keshab Mahanta and the members of Assam Legislative Assembly, cutting across party lines, expressed concern over the upsurge in the number of HIV-positive cases in the state.

Replying to a query from Congress MLA Sivamoni Bora, the Health Minister said during the Question Hour, “One of the reasons behind the rise in the number of HIV positive cases in the state in the past few years is the sharing of needles for injecting drugs by the addicts. The other reasons behind the menace are unsafe sex, transmission from truck drivers from other states, infants born from infected mothers, etc.”

Mahanta said, “We have tested around 89 lakh people from 2002 to 2023 and detected 31,729 HIV-positive cases. We tested 9.9 lakh people in 2023 alone and detected 5,791 positive cases. The increase in the number of HIV-positive cases in the state is alarming. We are engaging NGOs to bring awareness to the people.”

MLA Savamoni Bora said, “The number of HIV-positive cases in Assam is higher than the national average. And around 50 percent of the HIV-positive cases in Assam are drug-related. The HIV situation in the state will be beyond control if the government doesn’t take the right remedial measures now.”

BJP MLA Rupak Sarma said, “Nagaon alone has 3,049 HIV-positive cases. The number of HIV-positive cases in the state can be even higher, as people seldom come forward for testing on their own. The current statistics of HIV-positive cases in the state are the ones detected in testing camps organised by the administration.”

The minister said, “Assam is the centre where people from neighbouring and other states come for various purposes, including business. Even HIV-positive patients from other states in the Northeast also come to Assam for treatment.”

Citing statistics given by the National AIDS Control Organization, the minister said, “The detection and confirmation of HIV positive cases are done in standalone ICTCs (Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres). Assam has 107 such centres. The menace needs collaborative efforts from all sections of society to address it. Merely combating drugs alone will not control the situation if we are to check the rising trend of HIV transmission.”  

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