A fake doctor treating poor patients in India for colds, coughs and diarrhoea has allegedly infected 21 of them with HIV due to the suspected use of contaminated syringes and needles, an official said.
Police in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is looking for Rajendra Yadav who fled a small town, Bangarmau, after the HIV infections were detected in December last year, Sahil Choudhury, a government official said.
Many villagers relied on Yadav for treatment of common ailments in the area. Villagers said they rarely saw him changing the needles. Choudhury said this probably caused HIV infections.
He said villagers complained that Yadav would give injections for almost all ailments and charged very small fees.
Millions of villagers in India’s remote rural areas depend on fake doctors for cheap treatment for want of doctors and medical facilities in those areas.
According to the United Nations’ data, India had over two million people who were living with HIV in 2016. The UNAIDS report shows a 20 per cent annual decline in new infections during the recent years.
"An investigation showed that almost all of them had taken injections from one person," Choudhury said.
He said the infections were detected during a medical camp set up by the state government where over five hundred people were screened.
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