More children getting HIV

169 children detected HIV positive in 8 months

As many as 169 children below the age of 14 have been detected as HIV positive in a span of eight months in Orissa, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya said."Six of the 169 children died within a period of eight months from July 2010 to February 2011," the minister said replying to a question in the assembly.Ganjam district tops the list with 70 children (41 male and 29 female) being identified as HIV/AIDS afflicted followed by 15 in Balasore. The others were from Sambalpur, Koraput and Cuttack during this time, he said.Of the total 169 children, 83 were females, he said."Of the six deaths, four were male children," the minister said adding that while four children from Ganjam died, one death each was reported from Kendrapara and Khurda districts.