Drug-Addict Teenage Girl Turns Superspreader As Nainital Witnesses 19 HIV Cases In Five Months

Nainital CMO Dr Harish Pant said 75 HIV cases have been reported in Ramnagar in the last five years but the department woke up recently.

Haldwani: The Ramnagar area of Nainital has counted 19 HIV cases in five months where most of the patients came in contact with an infected teenage girl. The state health department fears the number of cases can rise as others who came in contact with the girl may develop symptoms.

As a precaution, the health department has started counselling the infected while simultaneously providing treatment. Chief medical officer of Nainital Dr Harish Pant said 75 HIV cases have been reported in Ramnagar in the last five years. However, it took 19 cases since April for the department to finally wake up.

As per an investigation by the department, most of the HIV patients are youth who contracted the immunocompromised disease from a teenage girl who is also a drug addict. They lured the girl with the promise of drugs and in the process unknowingly got infected. When their health deteriorated, they were found to be HIV positive.

During counselling only the name of the teenage girl came to the fore, which confirmed her possibility of being the superspreader in Ramnagar.

About 26 HIV cases were reported from April 2023 to March 2024 while the figure stands at 19 for April-October this year.

Dr Pant said seminars and awareness camps on HIV are organised by the department where free medicine is provided to those diagnosed positive. Their identity is kept confidential.