FRIGHTENING TREND IN BENUE : It has been revealed that over 1 million out of the 4.5 million population in Benue State have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

It has been revealed that over 1 million out of the 4.5 million population in Benue State have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The Executive Secretary, Benue State Action on Control of AIDS (BESACA), Mrs. Grace Wende, made this known at the training of media professionals on HIV/AIDS held at the Conference Hall, Ministry of Information, Markurdi, Benue State, on Thursday.
Mrs. Wende, in a paper entitled “Basic facts on HIV/AIDS,” said that about 400,000 children living with the virus have been placed on antiretroviral drugs (ARV), adding that 708,640 adults are living with the disease. Based on the statistics, about two out of five people in the state are carriers of the disease, with women having it more than men.

According to her, the children carriers of the disease, who have the highest infection rate, were born with the disease. These children, according to her, got the disease from mothers who failed to go for ante-natal care at government-owned hospitals where their status could have been detected earlier: “In Benue State, the number of adults infected with HIV/AIDS was 708,640, out of which 21,259 were new infections in 2011. In the same year, 17,139 women were found positive. The number of children requiring ARV was 398,888,” she said.
She then cited the attitude of the people of the state to unprotected s*x and the rising number of youths becoming homosexuals as factors responsible for the rise in the scourge. She also noted that many men who flock around ladies and engage in unprotected s*x also transmit the virus to their unsuspecting wives.