HIV cases among drug addicts increased during lockdown

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 25

During the Covid-induced lockdown, drug addicts were not able to venture out. As a result, needle and vial sharing increased and many of them turned HIV positive. The sad part is that many cases are emerging where not only the addict but the spouse and kids (in few cases) have also turned positive in Ludhiana district.

In 2019, the total number of drug addicts who turned HIV positive in Ludhiana district were 300. In 2020, due to the lockdown, only 100 new cases were identified while in 2021, till now, 260 new cases have been reported.

Spouse, kids infected

Till now, we have found five to six cases where drug addicts have turned HIV positive. They have infected their spouse and in few cases kids as well. —NGO volunteer

According to sources, 193 drug addicts who turned HIV positive were married and of these, 98 were yet to be traced. “Till now, we have found five to six cases where drug addicts have turned HIV positive. They have infected their spouse and in few cases kids as well,” said a volunteer of an NGO which is working on the Injectable Drug Users’ Project. A 27-year-old man from Mundian Kalan, who was a drug addict, turned HIV positive during the lockdown. He infected his wife and one-year-old kid.

Not just syringes, the sharing of vials by drug addicts is becoming one of the reasons behind the increasing number of HIV positive patients in the district, said Dr Inderjit Singh Dhingra, who heads the NGO running the Injectable Drug Users Project of Punjab State AIDS Control Society since 2008.

“While smack is getting costlier, addicts are depending more on injectable drugs. Vial sharing is on the rise. Addicts use their own syringes but are filling them from the same vial, which is becoming the reason for HIV spread. During lockdown, the addicts were unable to go out and visit hotspots. As a result, syringe sharing also increased during this period,” said Dr Inderjeet Dhingra, project director.

However, Dr Amrit Chawla, District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit Officer, said even during the lockdown, the department provided all necessary things to drug addicts like groceries.