Over 19 men test HIV positive after contact with same girl in Uttarakhand's Nainital: Reports

The outbreak came to light when the youths began to get sick, and hospital tests confirmed their HIV diagnoses in Nainital's Ramnagar.

More than 19 youths in Uttarakhand's Nainital have tested positive for HIV or AIDS after engaging in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl, The New Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The girl, allegedly addicted to heroin, engaged in physical relationships with the young men who funded her addiction.

Testing showed that many were HIV positive, leading to an investigation that uncovered a shared connection among the cases. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

“This is a disturbing trend, and we're taking immediate action,” a district health officer was quoted as saying. “The girl's addiction led to this unfortunate situation, and we're working to provide counselling and support,” he added.

Why is it alarming?

The outbreak came to light when the youths began to get sick, and hospital tests confirmed their HIV diagnoses in Nainital's Ramnagar

Young men started visiting the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) at Ramdatt Joshi Joint Hospital due to serious health problems. Testing showed that many were HIV positive, leading to an investigation that uncovered a shared connection among the cases.

In her quest for money to support her addiction, the teenager allegedly engaged in physical relations with local youths, who were unaware of her HIV status. A report from News18 indicated that counselling sessions revealed she was the source of several infections among the men.

Nainital's chief medical officer Harish Chandra Pant, expressed concern over a sudden spike in HIV cases in the region.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Pant said, “Typically, around 20 HIV-positive cases are detected annually. However, within just five months this year, 19 new cases have been reported.”

Pant added that authorities are taking the incident seriously and have started counselling services in different areas to tackle the issue. He said the sudden rise in HIV cases is concerning, particularly given the typical annual figures, noting that the district health department is focused on providing support and education to the affected communities.

A senior health department source told the newspaper that in the last 17 months, 45 persons in Ramnagar have tested positive for HIV, raising alarms among health officials. “As youths began falling ill, hospital tests confirmed they were HIV positive,” the unnamed official said.

“What's even more disturbing is that several of these individuals were married, and their spouses have also contracted the disease,” he said. “This is a wake-up call for our community,” the medical officer said.

"These young men had no idea they were exposed to HIV through the same 17-year-old girl," TNIE quoted a counsellor as saying.

“During counselling sessions, we discovered that they all had physical relationships with her, unaware of her smack addiction,” the counsellor said.

“The girl, struggling with addiction, engaged in these relationships to fund her habit. Unfortunately, the youths became easy prey,” the counsellor added.