AIDS Killed 177 in Mizoram in 20 Years

Aizawl, Dec 1 : With two people dying of AIDS during October, the killer disease has claimed the lives of 177 people in Mizoram during the last 20 years, according to Mizoram State AIDS Control Society.

The first AIDS case in the remote Northeast Indian state was detected in 1990. Since then cases kept increasing.

According to official records, 177 people have died of AIDS from 1990 till October 2010. The actual number could be much higher as there could have been cases which went unrecorded, said an official in the MSACS.

With an average of 100 fresh cases of HIV detected every month, the MSACS stated that the AIDS scenario in the state is 'disturbing' after Manipur, where the situation is 'very alarming'.

During October, 94 fresh cases of HIV were detected from 3333 blood samples, putting the prevalence rate at 2.82 per cent. HIV prevalence rate in August and September was 2.53 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Of the 94 new cases of HIV in October, 67 were men.

Unprotected sex has been the main cause for the alarming rise of HIV/AIDS cases in Mizoram. The record stated that 44 males contracted HIV during last month through sexual intercourse while 23 females did so through the same process. As many as 21 males and 3 females were affected through the use of drugs (sharing syringes).

Since 1990, MSACS has tested 127509 blood samples from which 5151 were found to be positive for HIV. There are 527 people with full-blown AIDS.

Of the 5151 HIV positives, 3265 contracted the virus through unprotected sex. 2107 HIV positives are aged between 25-34 while 1392 are aged between 35-49.

While 1312 of them are between 15-24 years old, 196 are below 14. There are also 143 people living with HIV above the age of 50.

The official report also stated that an estimated 200 babies are born annually with HIV in Mizoram.