This shocking incident has taken place in the Village nearby Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. A man masquerading as a doctor infected at least 41 villagers. He did this by using the syringes and needles contaminated with the HIV virus. Sushil Choudhury stated that the police are now looking for this fake doctor Rajendra Yadav, who fled Bangarmau, a small town in Uttar Pradesh state after people found out about the HIV infections in December.

Yadav had been going around northern India, supposedly treating poor villages for coughs, colds, and diarrhea, USA Today reports. As per the reports from the villagers, Yadav never changed the needles while treating them, which Choudhury said likely caused the HIV virus to spread.

We all know that India’s health care system is currently facing a huge shortage of doctors and hospitals, which has led to a proliferation of fake doctors, who charge cheaper treatments and fees.

Back in 2016, India had 2.1 million people living with HIV of which over 9,100 were children younger than 15. On the bright side, the country has seen a 20% annual decrease in new infections over recent years, this report notwithstanding. It is said that Yadav would apparently visit the villages on his bicycle and would treat patients outdoors. He would give injections for all possible ailments at incredibly cheap prices, Choudhury related. A sudden spike in HIV cases in and around Bangarmau was detected in December, alerting state officials.

Choudhury said, “An investigation showed that almost all of them had taken injections from one person. This was an important lead. We set up special medical camps in villages in the area and checked 566 people, and 21 were found to be HIV positive.”

On the other hand, Mehtab Alam, a project manager for Raza Husain Memorial Charitable Trust, said that one way to differentiate fake doctors is that they use glass syringes instead of disposable ones, employing it and one needle for hundreds of patients. The charity works with HIV and AIDS patients in northern India.

Alam concluded, “Villagers are ignorant about hygiene.”

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