Pak seeks help from WHO to investigate HIV outbreak

The Pakistan government has sought the help of the World Health organisation (WHO) to probe the recent outbreak of HIV in the country's Sindh province, that has till now affected over 600 people, mostly children, according to a media report.

Till now 681 HIV positive cases have been identified among the 21,375 tested in Ratodero town of Larkana district in the north-west part of the province. Out of the affected 537 are between the ages of 2 to 15.

Health officials have attributed the cause to the use of unsanitary equipment, unsafe blood transfusion and rampant malpractice often at the hands of quacks.

We are expecting a 10-member rapid response team from the WHO and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to arrive in a few days and we will be able to know the exact reason for the outbreak of the disease in Ratodero, Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

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