LAHORE: After the HIV and AIDS panic that struck Ratto Dero in Larkana district of Sindh, a larger number of such cases have been detected in Punjab lately. While the number of HIV/AIDS cases has surpassed 751 figure including 600 children, Punjab has owned up to 13,400 such patients, according latest statistics. According to a report, the largest number of HIV/AIDS patients has been found in Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab where more than 3,000 people have been tested positive for the HIV virus. In Faisalabad also, more than 2,800 HIV/AIDS patients have been detected. A campaign for testing the jail inmates in Punjab has also found HIV virus among 3,000 prisoners, according to the report. Earlier, in five districts, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Sahiwal, Jhang and Nankana Sahib, there more than 2,800 patients were registered with the Punjab AIDS Control Programme. The WHO had warned some months back that Pakistan was registering nearly 20,000 new HIV cases annually. This is the highest figure in the region.
