Mirpurkhas emerges as new HIV hotspot among children in Sindh

Mirpurkhas district in Sindh is emerging as a new hotspot for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases among children

Mirpurkhas district in Pakistan's Sindh province has emerged as a concerning hotspot for pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases, with 150 new infections reported among children in 2024, according to official statistics, Geo News reported on Monday.

This alarming rise has raised serious flags, as Mirpurkhas now contributes to over 26 per cent of the 568 pediatric HIV cases reported in Sindh last year. On average, 48 children have been diagnosed with HIV each month in the province, highlighting a growing public health crisis.

Sindh's health authorities, in their recent data for 2024, highlighted that 568 children in the province were diagnosed with HIV, out of which 78 boys and 72 girls belonged to Mirpurkhas alone.

Other districts with significant pediatric HIV cases include Larkana, where 52 boys and 35 girls tested positive, followed by Shikarpur (27 boys and 19 girls), Hyderabad (36 boys and 25 girls), and Jacobabad (23 boys and 15 girls).

Sindh, which ranks as the second most HIV-affected province in Pakistan, reported a total of 3,446 new HIV cases last year. This figure included 1,811 men, 813 women, 254 transgender individuals, and 568 children. The province saw an average of 287 new HIV cases each month in 2024, with 48 of them being children.

Infectious diseases experts have pointed towards poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices as the main culprit behind the rising incidence of HIV among children, adding that the reuse of syringes and IV drips by quacks and even some registered medical practitioners in rural Sindh is the major mode of transmission, Geo News reported.

"When we test parents of these children, most of the time, they test negative, while in many cases, even other siblings of these HIV-positive children test negative for the virus. This indicates that poor IPC and unsafe injection practices are the leading cause of HIV transmission among children," said Dr Faisal Mehmood, head of the infectious diseases department at the Aga Khan University Hospital.