Goa sees rise in HIV+ cases in last 10 months

Ponda: For the 10 months between January and October this year, Goa has witnessed 209 people test positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as compared to 184 people during the corresponding period last year.
Of the 209 cases, 196 were general cases and 13 were antenatal cases.
Similarly, for the January to October period this year, 11 persons — nine men and two women — have been detected with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In 2021, this figure stood at eight cases — seven men and one woman.
Since January to September this year, the state has witnessed 30 AIDS deaths — 21 men and nine women. For the corresponding period in 2021, the number was at 21 — 11 men and 10 women.
While 76,106 samples were collected the first 10 months of 2021, this year saw 98,214 persons come forward to get tested. Officials at the Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS) said that last year, fear of contracting Covid-19 led to fewer people volunteering to get tested.
GSACS project director Gokuldas Sawant said that many of the people who could not reach counselling and testing centres last year have come forward this year, leading to more testing, and consequently a higher number of HIV positive cases.
The 209 new cases reported in Goa till October have taken the total number of HIV positive cases in the state to 17,996, since the first case was reported here in 1987.
While HIV is prevalent in all parts of the state, this year too, the majority of the cases have been reported in the three coastal talukas of Bardez (22.9%), Salcete (17.8%) and Mormugao (13.2%).
As per GSACS data, sexual contact is the predominant mode of transmission, followed by perinatal. Transmission through blood and blood products and infected syringes and needles is negligible in Goa.