KARACHI, Sept 1: Contrary to the HIV trends in the country where till June 2003 Pakistanis deported from Gulf countries constituted the single largest group inflicted with the deadly virus , the predominant mode of HIV transmission at present happens to be injecting drug users.

Sindh Enhanced HIV/AIDS Control Programme Manager Dr Sharaf Ali Shah cited the scenario precarious and dangerous. He said that Pakistan had been considered a high risk and low prevalence country until recently but after HIV outbreak among injecting drugs users in Larkana and Karachi the situation was alarming.

"There is a serious threat that current stage could rapidly change from low prevalence to generalized epidemic," he said. He mentioned that a significant number of randomly selected injecting drug users tested in Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Karachi were found HIV positive.

Some of the jail inmates hooked to intravenous drug addiction also reported to be HIV positive, he added. Dr Sharaf Ali said that across the board examination of all injecting drug users could not be possible, yet of those randomly selected as many as 147 were found HIV positive during the first six months of the current year in Karachi only.

From June 2003 to December 2003, three drug injecting users were found HIV positive in Karachi, he added. He said that out of 926 injecting drug users, tested in Larkana only, as many as 49 were found HIV positive bringing the total number of such cases to 199 in Sindh.

It is estimated that the number of injecting drug users in Karachi ranges between 15,000 and 20,000. At least 10,000 drug injecting users are based in Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Larkana, Nawabshah and Hyderabad.

Mentioning that epicentre of HIV pandemic is shifting from Africa to Asia, he said that the recent trend further enhanced vulnerability of locals, particularly youth, to the scourge as drug addiction itself was assuming serious proportions.

According to him, the situation could not be effectively contained lest concerted efforts are made on part of society in general and the government in particular for rehabilitation and treatment of those already hooked to drugs. Besides, he stressed that stringent measures should be taken to ensure immediate and effective halt to public accessibility to contraband drugs. - APP