Another Child Tests Positive for HIV in Karachi

A three-year-old girl from Karachi’s Orangi Town has tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), taking the total number of infected children in the area to 107.

According to the family, the child’s infection was confirmed through three separate laboratory tests, including Rapid Detect, Uni-Gold, and HIV Combo (Ag/Ab), all of which returned positive results.

The parents said the girl had received treatment at the Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security SITE Hospital, commonly known as Valika Hospital. They claimed that her health started deteriorating after the treatment, after which they decided to get her tested for HIV.

The latest case has surfaced amid an ongoing investigation into an HIV outbreak among children who reportedly received treatment at the government-run Valika Hospital in Karachi’s SITE Town.

Health authorities have confirmed that 107 children from Orangi Town have so far tested positive for HIV, while the death toll among infected children in Zia Colony has reached nine.

Several affected families have alleged that hospital staff reused syringes on multiple children, which they believe led to the spread of the virus.

In February, Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal publicly said that the outbreak was caused by the reuse of contaminated syringes at Valika Hospital.

Later, while addressing the National Assembly on June 10, the minister said the government had banned five types of syringes following a rise in HIV/AIDS cases across the country. He also told lawmakers that reports of increasing HIV infections had emerged from Islamabad and Taunsa in Punjab.

The Sindh Health Department has also reported a rise in HIV cases across the province during 2026.

According to the minister, around 366,000 people in Pakistan are living with HIV/AIDS. He said the disease is treatable if diagnosed and managed properly.

He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a special committee to help curb the spread of HIV, while the federal government was working with provincial authorities to strengthen prevention and control measures.