Chandigarh: There are more than 1,500 Injected Drug Users (IDUs) in the tricity and more than 13 per cent of IDUs in Chandigarh are HIV positive.
This was revealed in a report on ‘Size Estimation of Injection Drug Use in Punjab and Haryana’ at Panjab University today. The report was released by UT Administrator Gen S F Rodrigues.
UNAIDS got the study conducted by Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) along with National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS.
The study has also found out that most of the IDUs were employed and in the age group of 18 to 30 years. A good number of these started using drugs recently — since three to seven years. Most were frequent injectors and used to inject either daily, multiple times or three to four times a week.
The sample size in Chandigarh-Panchkula was 326, while in Ropar-Mohali it was 297. Of these 50 per cent respondents in Chandigarh-Panchkula and 80 per cent respondents Ropar-Mohali were married. This increased the risk of HIV infection among their spouses. Of these, a majority claimed not having shared needles ever. The study also revealed that a few respondents had received any kind of treatment. No one reported having received oral substitution treatment. In Chandigarh-Panchkula, a small minority reported receiving needle syringe exchange services.
Dr Denis Broun, Country Coordinator, UNAIDS said injecting drug use contributes significantly to the spread of HIV in India. The injecting drug users cut across all age groups and are more prevalent among the unemployed and unskilled sections of society.
Dr Atul Ambekar and Dr B M Tripathi from AIIMS presented the highlights of the report. Dr Ambekar stressed how injecting drug users were difficult to contact. They began with 20 at each site and asked each one of them to contact three more. This helped in conducting a study, which is the largest on IDUs in Punjab and Haryana.
Addressing the gathering, Gen Rodrigues called for a holistic approach towards fighting the menace of HIV/AIDS.
He stressed on adopting multi-pronged supportive strategies, with the focus on generating awareness about the major factors behind its occurrence and spread.
Source: ENS