HIV/AIDS on the rise; 200+ cases, 13 deaths in first quarter

25% increase compared to previous quarter

6 June 2024 08:17 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 6 Bookmark

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Colombo, June 05 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka faces a worrying upswing in HIV/AIDS cases, with over 200 new infections and 13 deaths reported in the first quarter alone in 2024.

According to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme, Sri Lanka has logged 207 HIV/AIDS cases in the first quarter in 2024 (January to March).

This reflects 25 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2023, which saw 165 cases.

Out of the cases reported in the first quarter 2024, 23 males and five females fall within the age range of 15-24, while the remaining cases are individuals above 25 years old.

The male-to-female ratio of reported HIV cases in 2024 stands at 7:1.

Further, a total of 13 HIV/AIDS related deaths were reported during the said period.

The fourth quarter in 2023 (October-December) marked the highest number of cases (209) reported in a single quarter since 2009.

Meanwhile, 2023 has reported 43 deaths related to HIV/AIDS.

Commenting on the situation, Consultant Venereologist Dr. Vino Dharmakulasinghe, the Director at the National STD/AIDS Control Programme told Daily Mirror that they continue to notice a notable uptick in HIV cases since 2018.

When asked about the reason for the rise in cases, Dr Dharmakulasinghe noted that the increase in cases can be attributed to the expansion of the testing capacity, the poor knowledge among people on sex education and risky sexual behaviour and not taking pertinent precautions.

Comments - 6

Mila Thursday, 06 June 2024 09:16 AM

LGBT people are the ones who spread the most HIV because they sleep with whomever they like. Married men who are also sleeping with another man are giving their wives HIV. Maybe it's time to understand that the same sex is unnatural. At school, they do not teach anything. A lot of gay activities happen at Sri Lankan schools, and this should be punished.

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J Martin Thursday, 06 June 2024 09:30 AM

Dr Dharmakulasinghe, you can’t keep on blaming the people’s behaviour for the increase in the HIV/AIDS numbers. The fundamental problem is that you doctors have “no cures” for this infectious disease even though this was first detected more than 40 years ago.

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ruwan Thursday, 06 June 2024 11:03 AM

there are drugs that are highly effective for hiv.. unfortunately government can't afford them so old drugs are being used to treat. seems you have not idea what you are talking about

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Sokrates Thursday, 06 June 2024 09:40 AM

Normally nobody dies of AIDS these days. There are enough good drugs to live with AIDS without major restrictions. It is shocking that the highly praised Sri Lankan free health care system does not provide these drugs, even though they are expensive, to those infected. Now some hardliners will say that these people have brought their infection on themselves and should not be treated at public expense. But what about all those who have caused themselves illnesses through excessive smoking and alcohol consumption? They are also treated free of charge in government hospitals.

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Suresh Thursday, 06 June 2024 10:34 AM

If what you say is true that there are now drugs available for AIDS , then how come in major Western countries “ anyone being infected with AIDS is still considered a major medical problem”. The fact is people infected with AIDS lead very restricted life for their rest of their lives, the drugs can’t help them lead a normal life . Thus it is still considered a deadly disease in the advanced countries.

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D P P Prasad Thursday, 06 June 2024 10:15 AM

The visa free entry to the country will be a blessing in disguise in order to increase the number of persons who are falling prey to the sexually transmitted diseases

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