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ISLAMABAD, June 1 (Xinhua) – Following an HIV epidemic with over 700 cases of HIV-positive patients in Sindh province, southern Pakistan, an international team of experts from the World Health Organization Health (WHO) has opened an investigation into this sudden incident. spread of the disease, local press reported Saturday.
The team, which arrived in the country on Tuesday, will try to determine the source of the epidemic and control it, as well as provide expertise in the areas of HIV testing, pediatric HIV treatment and family counseling, local sources quoted health officials as saying. .
Health Director Sindh Masood Solangi said nearly 700 people were diagnosed with the HIV virus, including 576 children under the age of five, in the town of Rato Dero in Larkana district. in the south of Sindh province.
He added that nearly 25,000 people had been tested for HIV since the end of April.
Dr. Zafar Mirza, the Prime Minister's special badistant for national health services, said earlier this week that the recent spread of HIV in children was either due to unsafe injections or some other reason that authorities Have not yet determined.
The outbreak caused panic among locals. Frustrated parents rushed to local health facilities to test their children's viruses.
The authorities have also repressed unqualified doctors as well as illegal blood banks and laboratories that would be involved in the spread of the disease. They arrested at least 17 quack doctors and closed more than 70 clinics in Larkana.
The provincial government has launched several HIV awareness and control programs to educate families about HIV and its treatment.
Doctors have long regarded Pakistan as a country with low HIV prevalence, but the disease is spreading at an alarming rate. About 20,000 new HIV cases have been reported in 2017 alone, according to the United Nations.
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