A total of 27,000 cases of HIV have been detected in Thane and Palghar in the last one year. The state health department is planning an awareness programme in the areas to control the outgrowth of the disease.
The staggering figure came after a survey was conducted among the population this year by the state department.
“The need of the moment is to create awareness in general population that they can come forward and take the treatment for betterment of their condition and they understand that it is curable. Due to the stigma attached to the disease they are afraid of coming out in the open and take treatment,” said Deepak Sawant, state health minister.
The burgeoning burden of AIDS is also heavy on the city, which has claimed 10,948 lives in the BMC and private hospitals in the last 14 years according to the data provided by the BMC, while in the state, a total of 27, 771 people have succumbed to the disease. In 2014 over 400 have died of the disease, a total of 1,600 have succumbed from 2010 to 2013.
In the bid that has already began, the Maharashtra state AIDS Control Society conducted a two-day workshop in Thane and Palghar in which huge participation by the common citizens and the patients was seen.
“We have appealed to the Municipal Corporation, media and the non-governmental organisations to join the awareness campaign and help us to further the campaign. We need larger reach and better communication,” said Dr Vilas Deshpande, deputy director of the Maharashtra information, education and communication (IEC).
Dr Rajesh Rana from National AIDS Control Organisation has assured that more workshops would be conducted in the area with high incidence of AIDS.
Apart from AIDS, tuberculosis is also on the rise in Thane and Palghar with over two to three people falling prey to the disease everyday according to the data provided. Swine flu has also claimed most patients from the area. Currently over sixteen cases of swine flu are admitted in isolation ward of Kasturba Hospital while a total of 63 patients are recuperating in Thane, Raigad and Palghar.
