HIV deaths in Mumbai up by 61% in a year

Deaths due to HIV have increased by 61% to 116 in 2017-2018, as compared to 72 in 2016-2017. Health officials attribute the increase to better reporting of cases as part of a large-scale drive carried out over two years, encouraging patients to follow up with treatment.

Dr Shrikala Acharya, project in-charge of Mumbai district AIDS Control Society, said the drive was undertaken to trace and bring back the patients who were lost to follow-up procedures. “Outreach workers went to their homes and therefore, some additional deaths have been reported during these years,” said Dr. Acharya. HIV patients stopping treatment mid-way is extremely common due to difficulty in dealing with side effects, stigma, migration and the lack of counselling.

In 2015-16, 27 deaths were recorded in Mumbai. Considering the overall rise in three years, it is an increase of over 300%. The number of deaths in Maharashtra, however, recorded a slight decline. Most HIV deaths occur due to Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome while many other HIV-infected individuals die because of other ailments as their immune systems are compromised.

A 2010 report in The British Medical Journal had said that in a survey of 1.1 million representative homes, about 100,000 adults aged 15-59 years died from HIV in 2004 in India. It also said at ages 25-34 years, about 40% of these deaths were from AIDS, 26% were from tuberculosis, and the remainder from other causes.