Karachi: Alarmed by the emergence of over a dozen HIV cases among children in Pathan Colony of SITE Town, health authorities have decided to screen every child brought to the paediatrics department of the Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital for HIV to determine the true extent of the outbreak, officials said on Monday.
A team from the Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) visited the Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital and met parents of the infected children, assuring them that a mass screening campaign would soon be launched in Pathan Colony to identify all HIV-positive children and adults in the locality and link them with treatment.
SACP officials blamed quacks and poor infection prevention and control practices within the community for the spread of the virus. Responding to anxious parents, they counselled them on HIV transmission, treatment and prevention, urging them to continue treatment as advised by infectious diseases specialists so that their children could live a healthy life.
Experts told parents that HIV was now a “treatable and manageable” lifelong infection if patients take medicines regularly and keep their viral load suppressed. They added that with modern antiretroviral treatment, children can live long, healthy and productive lives.
At least two children have already lost their lives, while 12 others have tested positive for HIV at the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution’s (SESSI) Valika Hospital in SITE Town, officials confirmed earlier, marking what appears to be a fresh HIV outbreak among minors in Karachi.
Hospital officials said 14 children from Pathan Colony have so far been confirmed HIV-positive after they were brought with persistent fever, recurrent infections and unexplained weight loss. Shockingly, all parents of the infected children tested negative for HIV, raising serious concerns over non-sexual transmission, likely through unsafe medical practices.
With no HIV treatment available at Valika Hospital, the infected children have been referred to Civil Hospital Karachi and other treatment centres in the city. The deaths of two children triggered fear among parents and residents.
District health officials and teams from international health agencies have launched a joint investigation into the outbreak, initially suspecting reuse of syringes, drips and other unsafe medical practices. Investigators said quacks and unregistered healthcare providers operating in low-income settlements remain the most likely source of infection.
Locals, however, alleged negligence at Valika Hospital and demanded accountability. Community leaders from Pathan Colony urged provincial authorities to launch a large-scale HIV screening drive similar to the Ratodero campaign conducted in Larkana in 2019. They warned that delaying screening would be “criminal negligence” given the vulnerability of children in the area.
The Medical Superintendent of Valika Hospital has formed an internal committee to probe whether lapses at the health facility contributed to the transmission.
At a meeting chaired by Labour Action Committee Chairman Malik Nek Zada Swati, participants criticised the hospital administration and called on the Sindh Labour Minister and SESSI Commissioner to initiate legal action against those responsible. They warned that if authorities failed to act, they would pursue legal options themselves.
Public health experts said the incident exposes gaps in Sindh’s HIV prevention system, surveillance and regulation of private and informal healthcare providers. Sindh remains the worst-affected province with nearly 4,000 children living with HIV. Around 2,300 new HIV infections have already been reported in the first nine months of the current year alone.
Repeated outbreaks among children in Larkana, Shikarpur, Ratodero and now Karachi, experts said, reflect systemic failure in infection control and weak oversight of healthcare services in low-income settlements. “Hushing up HIV numbers instead of confronting the crisis has allowed infections to spread unchecked,” a senior official said.
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