Fear of Stigma reason for spike in Anuradhapura HIV cases

Health authorities in Anuradhapura District have expressed concern about the rapid increase of  HIV cases in the district.

Senior Medical Officer of the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Centre in Anuradhapura teaching hospital Dr. Hema Weerakoon said 170 HIV infected patients have undergone treatment at the centre since 2003. 

She added that about two thirds of these cases are from the Anuradhapura district. The remaining one third are from other districts, and they visit the Anuradhapura centre for treatment. 

“The first wave of HIV-inflected cases hit the district  in  2002,” Dr. Weerakoon said. “Males are more prone to be HIV-infected than females, and the ratio  of  male to female stands 7.6 : 01.  Indulging in anal sex is the principal reason for this high infection rate among males. According to research, anal sex is more likely to cause HIV infections than heteroxual sex between men and women. While the HIV infection rate in Sri Lanka is going up, it has been decreasing internationally. Our younger generation is falling victim to this. More than 800 HIV infected cases have been identified in Sri Lanka for 2025 and more than 100 of them are very young,” Dr. Weerakoon continued.

“The first HIV patient identified  in 2002 in Anuradhapura died soon after, but the next patient  identified in 2003 is still living and healthy thanks to threatment. Treatment of the HIV affected is yet another  way of prevention because The drugs administered to the patient  reduces the pathogeny and the risk of  transmitting  the disease to another”. 

 “Because of the stigma attached to HIV and resulting social ostracisation, patients tend to visit other districts for treatment. HIV is an illness like any other and patients should not be stigmatised. Such discrimination may discourage patients from seeking treatment, and that can cause an increase in our HIV infection rates.”

” Like in other parts of Sri Lanka, the infection rate of men exceeds that of women in the Anuradhapura district. The largest number of people living with HIV has been reported from the Western province.  The rate of new infections reported from the Polonnaruwa district has exceeded that of the Anuradhapura district,” she continued.

“ According to statistics for the last three consective years, the rate of HIV infected reported from the Anuradhapura district has been between 15-20 per year and the majority of the patients were men.”

“ A major concern is the poor access to informaton and the  long delay in obtaining treatment for HIV resulting in AIDS. It is a key challenge in the battle against  AIDS.   It is imperative that one must undergo an HIV test  six weeks after unprotected sex. However,  the individuals who fail to do so through ignorace or  due to neglect  risk of being infected. Through modern treatment options, those who tested  positive  are able to live a healthy  and happy married  life and have healthy children. Several HIV infected mothers in the Anuradhapura district have given birth to healthy children since 2016. We last had a report of an HIV-infected child in 2016.”

Dr.  Weerakoon  concluded by saying that  about 40 million people have died of AIDS since the disease was first identified in the early 80s.