September 8, 2003	Monday	Rajab 10, 1424

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LARKANA, Sept 7: Five more cases of HIV positive have been discovered in the Central Prison Larkana taking the total to people suffering from the disease to 45 in Larkana alone.

Potential carriers still loom large in the shape of heroin addicts, prostitutes and those returning from the Gulf and some other countries.

The HIV positive cases in the Central Prison Larkana include three heroin addicts and two criminals.

Sources said on Saturday that their tests were conducted on Aug 6 while the confirmation of their blood screening was received on Aug 26.

They said that local health officials had informed the director general, Health, regarding the new cases.

No substantial steps have been taken in Larkana to control the deadly virus, especially amongst the three categories of carriers mentioned above, despite the claim from local authorities and the project director, AIDS Control Programme, Sindh, Sayyed Sharafdin Shah.

A panic was caused in June this year after four out of eight heroin addicts were found carrying HIV. They had been picked up at random by the local authorities for the AIDS screening test.

Soon a crackdown was initiated throughout Larkana town against heroin addicts.

Several officials of NGOs from Punjab visited Larkana to have AIDS patients sent to Lahore and other parts of the country where there were rehabilitation centres.

However, only 12 people were sent to the rehabilitation centres. Besides, no major effort has been made to control the spread of the deadly virus.

Many doctors fear that an alarmingly high figure of HIV positive cases could be discovered if all heroin addicts were screened for blood tests as most of them used the same syringe for injecting drugs into their bodies.

Besides, there is also the danger of the addicts transmitting the disease to their family members, especially their wives.

Almost all the addicts resort to begging or stealing so that they can be able to purchase some heroin.

ARREST DEMANDED: Around 100 men, women and children protested outside the local press club on Saturday against the police failure to arrest the killers of a man, Mumtaz Zangijo.