Tema Metro records 402 new HIV infections in first half of 2023
The Tema Metropolis recorded a total of 402 new positive cases of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) between January and June 2023.
Ms. Joanna Anorkor Lartey, the Tema Metropolitan TB/HIV Coordinator, revealed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, saying the figure comprised 163 males and 239 females testing positive for the virus during the period under review.
The new infections showed a 17.9 percent increment over the 341 documented between January and June 2022.
She said out of the figure, 163 males and 235 males and females, respectively, were put on treatment after testing positive, while the remaining four were yet to be linked to care.
She said for the full year of 2022, the Metro recorded a total of 603 new infections made up of 263 males and 340 females, adding that all of them were successfully linked to care.
Breaking down the statistics, she stated that 11 children aged zero to four tested positive for HIV between January and June this year, while four, seven, and 10, respectively, belonged to the age brackets five to nine, 10 to 14, and 15 to 19 years.
She observed that the most worrying data had to do with those aged between 20 and 39, indicating that risky lifestyles could contribute to the high figures of HIV positives among them.
The data revealed that 26 of the first half records were aged 20 to 24, while those aged between 25 and 29 recorded 52 new infections.
The TB/HIV Coordinator noted that 56 new infections were seen among persons aged 30 to 34, while those in the age bracket of 35 to 39 also recorded 52 positive cases between January and June 2023.
Ms. Lartey stated that with the 2022 full-year data, 12 children aged zero to four tested positive, nine for the age bracket of five to nine, seven for ages 10 to 14, and six for those aged 15 to 19.
Fifty-seven new HIV infections were seen in ages 20 to 24, while ages 25–29 recorded 57, and 30–34 years had 74 infections, with 35–39 documenting 75 positive HIV cases in 2022.
She said even though the figures were collected from the four sub-metros, Tema General Hospital, due to its status as a referral hospital, had cases that did not originally emanate from the metro.
Source: GNA