Probe team to submit report in 3 days, says Naco chief

BANGARMAU (UNNAO): Ajay Gautam, 35, and his 30-year-old wife Kalawati (names changed) tested positive for HIV at a camp in Premgunj, Bangarmau, last month.

“I am a labourer and earn ₹250 daily. I hope to get back to work once I recover,” said Gautam.

The 35-year-old, along with others who tested positive, are being treated at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur, where they will be put on antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat the infection and keep them healthy.

“People are being asked to stay away from quacks and visit hospitals for treatment,” said Unnao chief medical officer (CMO) Dr SP Chowdhary.

Under the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco)’s ‘test and treat’ policy, anyone who tests positive for HIV is given free ART.

The therapy boosts CD4 count — a measure of the robustness of the body’s immune system — and protects against potentially fatal infections such as tuberculosis and pneumonia.

It keeps people healthy, lowers viral load and with it, their risk of infecting others for decades.

“When the virus load goes down, the symptoms go away and infected people can lead normal lives,” said professor Rakesh Kapoor, director of San- jay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).

With 2.1 million people affected by HIV, India is home to the world’s third-largest infected population after South Africa (7.1 million) and Nigeria (3.2 million).

However, the figures have more to do with the country’s population than high infection rates.

Though new HIV infection has declined in India, new hotspots have emerged in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Jharkhand, shows data from Naco’s biennial HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2016-17 that monitors HIV levels and trends across 650 districts.

While Rajendra Yadav, a selfstyled doctor with no training in medicine, is the main suspect behind reusing a contaminated syringe and infecting several people, medical experts from both the state and the Centre have jumped in to investigate the matter and get to the truth.

“Three officials — Dr Asha Hegde, Dr Vineeta Verma and Dr Tejas Mallick — will leave for Unnao on Wednesday. They are expected to submit a report in two-three days,” said Sanjeeva Kumar, director general, Naco.

Promising action, Uttar Pradesh health minister Sidharth Nath Singh said the state government had ordered an investigation.

“It was found that a local quack has given injection to the patients. The district administration has identified him and he will be arrested soon,” Singh said.

“Patients have been shifted to GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, for treatment,” he added.

INDIA IS HOME TO THE THIRDLARGEST HIV POSITIVE POPULATION AFTER SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA