KULOB, July 8, 2009, Asia-Plus — Over the first six months of this year, Kulob AIDS Prevention Center # 2 has conducted 9,000 HIV tests among high-risk groups in the region, the center director Tohir Tumonov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, six tests have confirmed HIV infection and some ten others have been sent for in-depth testing to the Republican AIDS Center in Dushanbe.
Tumonov said that 185 HIV sufferers, including 179 men and 36 women, have been officially reported in the region to this date. “Injecting drug users constitute 62 percent of HIV sufferers in Kulob and 22 percent of the officially reported HIV-infected persons have contracted the infection through sexual intercourse,” the director said.
Serious situation is in the city of Kulob, where the majority of HIV-infection cases have been reported – 142. The Kulob district has reported 15 HIV cases, Vose – 8, Hamadoni and Muminobod districts – 5 cases each, Farkhor and Shuroobod – 3 cases each and Danghara – 2 cases.
“The number of Kulob HIV sufferers undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased to 40,” Tumonov said.
Three HIV sufferers in Kulob have died since the beginning of this year; in all, 35 HIV sufferers in Kulob have died since 2003, when the first HIV case was registered here.
