Mokokchung, March 6 (MTNews): Overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic reports, little does other health issues find mention in the news these days. However, it does not mean that other health issues have subsided just like that. For instance, take the case of HIV positive cases in Mokokchung. According to data available at the Nagaland Chief Minister’s online dashboard, a total of 7894 tests were done in a span of 12 months in Mokokchung, spanning from November of 2020 to December of 2021, out of which 73 were tested positive. (See table below for details)
In the month of November, 2021 alone, a total of 765 clients were tested out of which 5 were diagnosed as HIV positive. In the same month, a total of 6028 tests were done in Nagaland, of which 130 tested positive for HIV.
According to a Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) representative in Mokokchung, the most common means of transmitting HIV is through the sexual route. According to him, more than 90% of HIV transmission is through this route, while the remainder of the cases are transmitted through intravenous drug use, and infected mother to child or contaminated blood transfusion, both of which are very rare.