Islamabad: As many as 9,634 people were newly registered with HIV in Punjab between January and July 2026, exceeding the province’s total of 7,920 registrations during all of 2025 and underscoring the need to determine whether the increase reflects expanded testing, delayed diagnosis or continuing transmission.
The latest figures, obtained unofficially from the Punjab Health Department by Vitals News, show that the seven-month registration total is about 22 percent higher than the number recorded over the previous full year. The data relates to people newly registered in the reporting system and should not automatically be treated as the number of infections acquired during the same period, officials explained.
However, a senior federal health ministry official said the data showing more than 9,600 HIV registrations in Punjab “appeared to be accurate”, but requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Punjab health department officials said concerns over the sharp rise in registrations were among the reasons for withholding the figures despite repeated requests from the Centre and health experts seeking data to assess the scale and nature of the problem.
Lahore accounted for 7,041 new HIV registrations, nearly three out of every four cases recorded in the provincial data from January to July. Faisalabad was second with 728 new registrations, followed by Kasur with 393, Okara with 232, Nankana Sahib with 125, Gujranwala with 117 and Bahawalnagar with 111.
Other districts reporting comparatively higher numbers included Layyah with 103 registrations, Gujrat with 94, Jhang with 78, Narowal with 77, Pakpattan with 67, Dera Ghazi Khan with 66 and Multan with 62, according to the tabulation.
The data also recorded 44 registrations in Lodhran, 43 in Hafizabad, 39 in Khanewal, 38 in Bahawalpur, 24 in Muzaffargarh and 21 in Chiniot. Smaller numbers were reported from several other Punjab districts, including Chakwal, Jhelum, Bhakkar and Mianwali.
Punjab had registered 7,920 HIV cases in 2025, with monthly registrations ranging from 558 in April to 781 in July. The province recorded 653 cases in January, 622 in February, 647 in March, 558 in April, 685 in May, 575 in June, 781 in July, 707 in August, 754 in September, 724 in October, 606 in November and 608 in December.
The comparison is significant because the 2026 figure covers only seven months, while the 2025 number represents the full calendar year. Even if registrations slow during the remaining months, Punjab has already crossed last year’s total by a substantial margin.
Public-health and infectious-disease experts warned that registration data needed careful interpretation. An increase can mean that more people are being tested and linked to treatment, including people who may have been living with HIV without knowing their status. It can also result from improved reporting, referrals to larger treatment centres or delayed registration of previously diagnosed patients.
At the same time, they said, the sharp rise warrants scrutiny of prevention and testing services, particularly for populations at greater risk, spouses and partners of people living with HIV, pregnant women and children exposed to the virus.
Lahore’s exceptionally high share may reflect the concentration of major testing and treatment facilities in the provincial capital, where patients from across Punjab and beyond may seek care. The figures appear to be organised by the city or facility through which a patient was registered, rather than necessarily by the patient’s permanent residence.
Federal health officials said Punjab health authorities should provide a district-wise breakdown based on patients’ residential addresses, along with details of tests conducted, positivity rates, people newly diagnosed, those linked to antiretroviral treatment and patients retained in care.
Public-health experts said such information would help determine whether the increase was primarily due to improved case detection or pointed to wider gaps in prevention. They said the province also needed confidential and easily accessible HIV testing, stigma-free counselling, safe blood-transfusion services, infection-control standards in healthcare settings and uninterrupted supplies of antiretroviral medicines.
Infectious-disease specialists said Punjab must particularly strengthen prevention of mother-to-child transmission through routine voluntary HIV testing during pregnancy and immediate treatment for women found to be living with the virus. Early diagnosis and sustained treatment, they said, allow people with HIV to live healthy lives and sharply reduce the risk of onward transmission.
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