10,600 test HIV positive in Kitwe

Sat, 03 Dec 2016 10:24:08 +0000

 A TOTAL of 10,649 out of 84,115 people in Kitwe tested for HIV from January to December 2015 were found to be positive, according to Kitwe district medical officer Chikafuna Banda. Dr Banda said out of the total general population tested  – 36,349 males and 47,766 females – 10,649 were found with the virus. He said the Government was working tirelessly in the district to ensure the levels of HIV were reduced to the required levels.

Dr Banda said the people were responding well to the campaign to get tested for HIV at various age groups. He said the HIV pandemic could only be reduced if the young people took the lead by abstaining from illicit sexual behaviours that could contribute to the spread of the scourge.

Dr Banda said HIV was not a prison sentence because one could live with it if they adhered to treatment. He said in 2015 pregnant women who underwent testing of the prevention from mother to child transmission were 20,591 and out of that total 2,007 were positive. The number of the adult population in Kitwe on ART for the year 2015 was 45,372. He said the VCT workers in Kitwe both in the public and private health institutions were doing a recommendable job. Dr Banda stated that even the women who were positive but their babies were negative were keeping them well by holding on to safe health measures.