Kohima, January 9 (IANS). The state Economic Survey 2023-24 said the HIV/AIDS rate among people aged 15 to 49 in Nagaland is 1.36 per cent, much higher than the countrywide rate of 0.2 per cent.
According to the Economic Survey 2023-24, the rate of HIV/AIDS in the general population is 1.61 percent.
A total of 33,396 persons were found HIV positive in Nagaland after testing nearly 16 lakh blood samples from 2006 to 2023, the survey said.
Of the total blood samples tested during 2023-24, 1.17 per cent were found to be HIV positive. Apart from this, 14.83 percent patients found HIV positive are undergoing treatment.
Of the children below 14 years of age whose blood was tested during the year 2023-24, 2.06 percent were found to be HIV positive.
The survey report said that among HIV-positive children under the age of 14 years, 53.70 per cent were boys and 46.30 per cent were girls.
A total of 1,385 children (2,099 per cent) under the age of 14 were found to be HIV positive from October 2007 to November 2023.
The Economic Survey report said that a total of 26,419 HIV positive patients were registered in Antiretroviral Therapy Centers (ARTCs). Of these, 21,110 were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) while a total of 3,116 patients on ART died.
It also said that a total of 6,205 HIV-positive males, 6,332 females, 12 transgender/transexual persons, and 748 children, including 370 girls, are on ART.
According to the recently released India HIV Projections 2023 report, more than 2.5 million people in India are affected by HIV. The prevalence of HIV among adults stands at 0.2 percent and the number of new HIV infections is estimated at approximately 66,400 annually. New annual HIV infections have declined by 44 percent since 2010, which is greater than the global reduction rate of 39 percent.
–IANS
MKS/AS
