53% of HIV patients in Maharashtra who have stopped treatment are missing, says report

More than half of total HIV positive patients undergoing treatment at government centres could not be traced according to a Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) report and the doctors believe they might spread it to others besides increasing their own health risks.

By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | | Updated: August 13, 2018 4:48 pm

Out of 25,000 HIV positive patients in Maharashtra who have stopped treatment since 2012, more than 50% of them cannot be traced anymore, showed a recent report by the Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS). This has raised concern among experts and doctors as they believe that these patients are not only risking their own lives but are also spreading infection to others, according to a media report by the Hindustan Times. MSACS has assembled the data after the health workers found that these HIV positive patients are no more turning up for treatment.

Patients who have not turned up for HIV treatment at government centres for over three months are considered to have stopped treatment or ‘loss to follow-up’, states the Hindustan Times report. The MSACS data states that 53% of these patients have not come for a follow-up and have provided wrong residential address, hence are untraceable.

Prior to 2012, around 15,000 patients had stopped their treatment, out of which, 30% died. MSACS officials are now keen on checking if these patients who have stopped getting treatment from the government centres have shifted to private hospitals for treatment and medication or not.

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has set September 2018 as the deadline for all the states to update information about these missing HIV positive patients, states the HT report. This is why MSACS is efficiently acting on boosting its efforts to find these patients who cannot be traced at present.

Image Source: Shutterstock

Published : August 13, 2018 4:47 pm | Updated:August 13, 2018 4:48 pm

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