Not just that, there has been a 10% rise in the number of such cases over the last one year–from 1,424 in 2014-15 to 1,559 in 2015-16–according to documents obtained, through the RTIs, from that National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), the apex government body dealing with India’s HIV/AIDS control programme. (The second of this two-part series will explore the reasons behind this crisis.)
The 10% increase in 2015-16 numbers is significant because it has reversed the near-consecutive decrease in cases in the five preceding years. NACO, however, has downplayed the rise in its report on blood banks: “Due to concerted and active efforts, the prevalence of TTIs (transfusion transmission infections) has come down significantly over the years.”
Developed countries rarely report such cases now. Canada, for instance, hasn’t seen a single case of blood transfusion-related HIV since 1985, and the US, since 2008.
While in India, one in every 100 HIV patients could be a victim of infected blood transfusion, the tally in the US is one in 300,000 cases, according to data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a US national health agency.
The government, meanwhile, seems to be denying its own findings.
“No,” was minister of state Anupriya Patel’s answer to the question as to whether the “government is aware that large number of persons across the country have been infected with HIV while getting blood transfusions”, asked in the Lok Sabha in August 2016.
