The highest number of HIV positive intravenous drug users (IDUs) in the country, are in Amritsar district of Punjab – says the data revealed by NACO (National AIDS Control Organization). According to the NACO data, Amritsar has over taken Churchandpur district of Manipur, in the HIV positive IDUs.

The Sentinel Surveillance and Estimation Report 2007 articulates that the rate of HIV prevalence among intravenous drug users is 30.4 percent in Amritsar, while the rate in the Churchandpur district of Manipur is 28 percent. Chennai with 27.2 percent rate and Mumbai (suburban) with 24.4 percent rate are behind Amritsar.       

The surging rate of HIV drug abusers in Amritsar is concerning the officials of the Punjab State AIDS Control Society. The major reason for the alarming growth in the number of HIV drug abusers in Amritsar is the easy availability of the HIV drugs in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur.   

Furthermore, Amritsar has the highest number of HIV positive people in Punjab. Amritsar currently has 5,400 HIV positive people, while Patiala has 2,000 HIV positive people, followed by Jalandhar with 1,700, Ludhiana with 1,000, and Gurdaspur with 600 people.

The data of the AIDS Control Society says that Punjab has nearly 15,000 HIV positive people till April 2009 which is 11 percent of the total HIV positive persons in India.