City HIV patient count down 20% in five years
The number of HIV patients in the city has decreased in the past five years.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, during the Lok Sabha session on Friday, shared the data on HIV patients. It stated that there were 6,480 HIV positive patients in the city in the year 2019-20. However, five years down the line, there has been a gradual decline and only 5,120 persons were registered as HIV patients on treatment in the year 2023-24.
In these five years, there was a spike in numbers just once in the year 2022-23, of 55 patients.
Dr Ravinder Kaur Sachdeva, Senior Medical Officer of Centre of Excellence (CoE)-HIV Care/ART Centre, PGIMER, said major factors for the decline in the HIV case count in the city were achievement of HIV viral suppression in more than 98% of patients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART). Good adherence is equally beneficial in countering increase in HIV patients. This achievement of ART Centre PGIMER was well recognised by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), where Chandigarh was the best performer amongst all ART Centres in 2022.
Dr Ravinder informed that index testing has been increased this year, which has contributed in identifying HIV-infected people at very early stage.
Index testing refers to contact tracing, asking the patients to get their partners tested for HIV. It helps in documenting the HIV status of sexual or needle sharing partners and biological children of HIV positive individuals.
“When more people are tested, it eventually will lead to more registrations of HIV cases, which is a good thing as awareness and knowledge of the infection at an early stage helps in nipping it in the bud. Not many are aware that for HIV infection to transform into AIDS, it may take from six months to a decade,” shared Dr Ravinder.
Prof Aman Sharma, programme director, CoE in HIV Care/ART Centre, shared how they had follow-up patients registered at the hospital for more than 25 years.
“The PGI has a history of treating AIDS patients since 1990s. Earlier, patients spent money and got treated for HIV, but since January 2005 after NACO’s funding, the treatment is available for free. The Centre of Excellence in HIV Care was introduced at the PGI in the year 2008. More than 16,500 patients with HIV have registered with the PGI till date,” he added.
CD4 cell count less than or equal to 200 in an individual is considered as advanced HIV disease.
Dr Ravinder shared they had seen patients with very low CD4 (less than 100 cells) also and these patients were suffering from various opportunistic infections. The other thing that the CoE will be focusing on now is prevention of perinatal transmission (mother-to-child HIV transmission).
The CoE also takes referrals from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan. Being the Centre of Excellence for North Zone (excluding Delhi), the PGI also provides Tele-SACEP (State AIDS Control Expert Panel Meeting) facility wherein a patient who cannot report to the centre can book an online consultation and receive medication.
