Home / Health / Palamu Battles HIV Surge: Migrants, Transfusions Highlight Risks
Palamu Battles HIV Surge: Migrants, Transfusions Highlight Risks
14 Oct
Summary
- Palamu records 1,776 active HIV/AIDS patients, including 845 women.
- Labour migration and unsafe blood transfusions are key transmission factors.
- Awareness rally emphasizes AIDS does not spread through casual dining.
Health personnel in Daltonganj organized an early-morning HIV/AIDS awareness rally on October 14, promoting screening and regular treatment. Civil surgeon Dr. Anil Kumar Sriwastwa, district RCH officer Dr. S. K. Ravi, and ART medical officer Dr. Manish Kumar initiated the event from the MMCH premises, joined by ANM students.
Dr. Kumar stated that Palamu currently has 1,776 active HIV/AIDS patients, 845 of whom are women. He noted that some patients become irregular with lifelong medication, emphasizing that treatment is free of charge.
According to medical sources, 60% of HIV/AIDS cases in Palamu involve migrant workers who had spent at least three months outside Jharkhand. Labour migration and safety issues in blood transfusions were identified as significant transmission factors, recalling an incident in Chaibasa Sadar hospital where children with thalassaemia received HIV-infected blood.
Dr. Ravi stressed a new slogan: AIDS does not spread by dining together. Dr. Kumar urged the public not to feel ashamed if advised to undergo HIV/AIDS screening or tests.
