Islamabad, April 24 (IANS) Medical experts at the HIV Centre of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMC) have voiced concern over an increase in the number of patients, stressing that the presence of HIV cases among children is particularly alarming, also warning that cover-up of the disease and failure to undergo testing pose serious risks, with more cases being detected among men, local media reported.

Programme Manager of the AIDS Control Programme, Zubair Abdullah, stated that the apparent rise in cases at the PIMS HIV Centre is largely due to more people coming forward for testing. He stressed the urgent need to inform people on how to prevent HIV, adding that an increase in testing across facilities is a positive development, Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

The data released by Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination revealed that 189 individuals have been registered as HIV-positive since October 2025. As many as 11 new cases were reported in the first 20 days of April. Male patients were more than females, with cases also identified among transgender individuals, while HIV being detected among children continues to remain a cause for concern, the report said.

Last week, a new investigative documentary revealed “serious malpractice” in the children’s ward of a government hospital in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

In 2025, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) in Taunsa was connected to an outbreak of HIV among children. At the time, Punjab province authorities had announced that a crackdown would be initiated and suspended the Medical Superintendent of THQ in March that year. However, a few months later, secret filming by ‘BBC Eye Investigations’ revealed that the lives of children were still being put at risk.

Filmed secretly over a few weeks, the BBC investigation revealed repeated and serious violations of basic infection control. The video footage showcases nurses injecting patients through their clothes, giving dirty syringes for re-use, and unqualified workers injecting child after child from a blood-contaminated vial of liquid medicine.

“The BBC’s undercover filming also captures wider problems: staff handling medical waste with bare hands, syringes and needles left exposed, and unqualified volunteers – who are officially banned from the children’s ward – operating without supervision. Staff shortages and supply problems appear to be contributing to the situation. In some cases, families are asked to buy their own medicines. Under pressure, staff reuse equipment or share medication between patients to make limited supplies last,” a press release issued by the British broadcaster said.

According to the BBC, at least 331 children in Taunsa tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025. Of their parents who also agreed to be tested, fewer than one in 20 tested positive for HIV. Infections continued even after the government’s announcement in March last year that a crackdown would be launched.

Despite the video footage, hospital officials have denied wrongdoing. Current Medical Superintendent Dr Qasim Buzdar has said that the footage may have been recorded before his tenure or “possibly staged”.

–IANS

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