19 men contract HIV after having physical relationships with girl addicted to drugs

DEHRADUN: Nineteen people who had physical relationships with a 17-year-old girl, have been diagnosed with HIV. The incident happened at Nainital in Uttarakhand. The girl is addicted to drugs.

‘This is a disturbing trend. The girl's addiction to drugs led to this unfortunate situation. Counseling and support will be provided,' district health officer responded.

‘Youths started visiting the Integrated Counseling and Testing Center (ICTC) at Ramdatt Joshi Joint Hospital at Ramnagar in Nainital following serious health problems. HIV was confirmed in the test conducted. After so many people were diagnosed with the disease, it was investigated where they were infected. The youths were counselled. In the meantime, everyone revealed the name of the girls,’ said the medical officer.

As she ran out of money to buy drugs, the girl started having physical relations with local youths. No one knew that the girl had HIV. Nainital Chief Medical Officer Harish Chandra Pant expressed concern over the sudden rise in HIV cases in the area. He added that the authorities are taking the incident seriously and have started counseling services in various areas to address the problem. Health department officials said that 45 people have tested positive for HIV in Ramnagar in the last 17 months.