500 HIV infected in Jhapa

JHAPA, Dec. 1: The number of people living with HIV has reached 500 in Jhapa district, the District Public Health Office revealed. The recent data has come out as the World AIDS Day-2015 is being observed on Tuesday across the country by organising various programmes with the theme 'End of AIDS Epidemic to Achieve Sustainable Development Goal'.

According to the Office, the number of male living with HIV is 294 while 206 are women. It is said that 58 new cases of HIV were reported in the last fiscal year alone.



Officer at the District Public Health Office Nirmala Prajapati said that altogether 31 people including four in the last fiscal year lost their lives due to AIDS in the district since 2064 BS.

Treatment of HIV/AIDS infected through anti-retroviral (ARV) is managed from Mechi Zonal Hospital, Bhadrapur, in the district. Currently, 195 persons including ten of Ilam, four of Morang and one each of Panchthar and Taplejung districts are taking the ARV from the Mechi Zonal Hospital.

It is estimated that 39,214 people are suffering from HIV in which 25,449 are men and 13,800 women, according to data provided by National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Centre. In Nepal, 85 per cent of HIV transmission is resulted through unsafe sexual contact. RSS

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