There has been a 57 per cent decrease in the number of new cases of HIV infection in last decade in the country, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Lok Sabha today. He also said that the number of HIV positive cases was 2.39 lakh in 2013-14 against 2.85 lakh in 2011-12. Under the National AIDS Control Programme IV (2012-17), the government’s objective was to reduce new infections further by 50 per cent and provide comprehensive care and support to all persons living with HIV and AIDS, the minister said. As of May 31, 2014, as many as 7, 77,485 patients were receiving free treatment from different anti-retroviral treatment facilities, Vardhan said. Out of them, 43,217 patients were children below 15 years of age. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka have largest numbers of HIV-AIDS patients numbering 1, 63,895, 1, 34,299 and 1, 00,913 respectively, he said.

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