VARANASI: Doctors at Varanasi district hospital have come across at least two patients who have tested positive for HIV in the past two months after getting tattoos.
The medical director’s office (CMO), Varanasi, has confirmed that two patients being treated at the district hospital testified that they had not had blood transfusions or had unprotected sex, but had tested positive. after tattooing.
Twenty-year-old Jayant (name changed), a resident of the district’s Baragaon area, got his hand tattooed at a fair held in the village. After a few months, his health began to deteriorate. He had a high fever and became weak. After all treatments, he was still not in remission so the doctors sent him for an HIV test. After investigation, he was tested positive. But Jayant doesn’t believe the report is accurate. He told the doctor that he was unmarried, not physically related to anyone and had never had a blood transfusion. Doctors later found his tattoo and explained to him that this was the reason.
A similar thing happened to a young woman, Shefali (name changed), from the local Nagwan. She was tattooed by a street vendor. After a few days, her condition began to deteriorate. After a pathological examination, it was discovered that she was HIV-positive.
Dr. Preeti Agarwal, senior physician at the antiretroviral therapy (ART) center at Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital said that the two had no idea about the main cause of HIV infection. “Neither had unprotected sex nor had an infected blood transfusion. When they were consulted at the center, they started having health problems after getting the tattoo,” said Dr. Agarwal.
She attributed the root cause of the problem to the use of infected needles during the tattooing process. In fact, the needle to create a tattoo is very expensive. Usually, after tattooing, the needle should be destroyed. But to make more money, tattooists use the same needle on multiple people. “However, tattooists are not aware of this danger. They don’t even know if the tattooist has put a new needle in the machine. In such a situation, if an HIV-infected person gets tattooed with that needle, there’s any risk of someone else getting HIV from using that same needle,” she added.
Dr Agarwal says that proper care is needed before getting a tattoo. To save money, getting a tattoo at a fair or from a street vendor can be a disaster. “Before tattooing, you must see if the new needle is inserted into the machine or not. People who have recently gotten a tattoo should get tested for HIV so that treatment can be initiated immediately,” she recommends.
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