In Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar, a disturbing case has come to light where as many as 19 people have been found HIV positive, including some married men and their wives. When officials launched an investigation into the history of sexual contact, they traced a minor girl, reportedly a drug addict, who was sexually exploited by these men in exchange for money.
Health officials have now alerted the infected persons, most of whom are young men, some married and some unmarried. Upon counseling and tracing case history, the men revealed that they all had unprotected sex with a minor girl in town who is known to be a drug addict. She reportedly agrees to have sex with men in exchange for money to feed her drug addiction.
As multiple men have kept on sexually exploiting a minor girl to satisfy their lust, the list of total HIV-positive persons may go up. Some of the infected were married men, who had also unwittingly infected their wives with the disease.
Dr Harish Pant, the CMO of Nainital district has informed that in the last 4 years, 75 HIV-positive cases have been detected in the area. However, 19 infected individuals in 7 months is a worrying development and the health department is working to create awareness and trace if any more people have come in contact with the said girl.
