DADU: An HIV satellite centre will be set up at Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences in Sehwan and doctors will be trained in the treatment of the disease, according to Dr Sikandar Ali Memon, project director of Sindh AIDS Control Programme.

Dr Memon said at an awareness workshop on HIV prevention organised at Syed Abdullah Shah Institute in Sehwan on Saturday that there was a difference between HIV and AIDS.

He said the disease had become a scandal though HIV was curable as it was caused by a virus. If HIV was not treated within three to 10 years then it could cause various diseases. There were an estimated 65,000 HIV patients in Pakistan and of them 40 per cent were in Sindh. AIDS was not just a disease it was a host of diseases, which weakened defence system of human body, he said. “We have 12,000-HIV positive cases,” he said.

He said that HIV had spread at faster pace in children than in adults. HIV was also linked to blood and was caused by transfer of contaminated, unscreened blood. It was therefore necessary to thoroughly screen the blood when it was donated, he said.

Dr Memon said that unnecessary use and reuse of syringes should be avoided. The syringe used on 860 children in Larkana had been infected with HIV. In 95pc of cases, injections were the culprit, resulting in hepatitis B and C in addition to HIV, he said.

He said that same kit was reused during delivery. “Dentists should use new equipment. We think HIV should be a national responsibility. We should be aware of the campaign. HIV infection also transmits from one person to another,” he added.

He said that more than 1,100 people were infected with HIV because of unsafe medical practices and urged all people to join them in the fight against the disease.

Earlier, Syed Abdullah Shah Institute director Dr Moinuddin Siddiqui said that he was delighted to organise programme on HIV. Dr Memon had played an important role in the development of the institute as well, he said.

He said that the institute had organised HIV screening while before that patients had to go to Hyderabad or Larkana for the treatment of the disease. “We seek help from Dr Memon in setting up an HIV treatment centre at the institute,” he said.

Jamshoro DHO Ms Shahida, Syed Zeeshan Haider Shah, Sehwan Bar Council president Rafiq Ahmed Dahiri, Manzoor Ahmed Soomro, Social Welfare Officer Mehtab Ahmed Memon, doctors, paramedics, lawyers and journalists attended the workshop.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2019