Bhubaneswar: A statement relating to the deaths of children due to HIV/AIDS submitted by the state Health department in the Assembly Thursday hinted at the alarming loss of lives in the state every year due to the viral disease.
The statement was submitted by state Health Minister Pratap Jena in response to a query relating to penetration of HIV and related deaths in the state. The minister, in his response, tabled a detailed data relating to the cases detected and deaths due to the disease.
According to the Health department data, since 2002 a total of 279 children died due to this disease – an average of 17 children deaths every year. On the other hand, when it comes to HIV infections among kids, a total of 2,816 children were detected to have tested HIV/AIDS positive since 2002. The data hints that on an average 176 kids test positive of the disease every year.
However, the disease burden statistics claims that a total of 46,967 persons were detected to have tested positive for the disease in the last 16 years since 2002 – an average of 2,935 persons every year.
The data also hints at a gender chasm when it comes to infections caused by the virus. The infection data claims that 27,763 (59 per cent) males were infected with the disease in the last 16 years, while 16,388 (35 per cent) females were tested positive for the viral disease. On the other hand, the total deaths among adults reported in the last 16 years stood at 6,931.