Mess in Manipur
there is no respite for Manipur. The state reported 75 per cent aids cases out of the total number of hiv-positive cases determined in the country till December 1996. Two anti-aids activists pointed out recently that most cases involved injecting drug users (idu). Annie Mangasatabam and Jayant Kumar - both from Imphal - who recently attended a global drug law conference in New Delhi, said that many drug abusers in Manipur shared needles, thus spreading aids like a wildfire. "Over 90 per cent of the drug users are intravenous users, of which 75 per cent share syringes as per figures up to 1992," said Mangasatabam. She informed that the 15-30 age group gets most affected. Kumar said that of the more than 4,000 hiv-positive cases reported till last December, a little over 3,000 were idu. "So, Manipur contributes 95 per cent of the reported hiv cases from injecting drug abuse," he said. As per the National aidsControl Organisation estimates, more than 3,300 idu/hivcases were reported in India till last December, said the duo.