Aizawl: Mizoram has recorded the highest AIDS/HIV-positive incidence rate with over 14,000 people found to be living with the disease since the first case was detected in the state in October 1990, HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2016-2017 of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) report said.

The report, published in December, attributed sexual contact as the main factor for fast spread of HIV in Mizoram as 24.68 per cent of female sex workers were infected with the virus against the average national record of 1.56 per cent. Meghalaya recorded the second highest incidence rate among female sex workers at 5.94 per cent, followed by Nagaland with 3.6 per cent.

According to officials of the Mizoram State Aids Control Society (MSACS), about 70 per cent of HIV-positive people were infected through unprotected sex, followed by sharing needles at 32 per cent.

HIV Sentinel Surveillance report shows that 13 states exceed the average national record of HIV-positive rate among pregnant women in antenatal clinic (ANC) category with Mizoram being the highest at 1.19 per cent, followed by Nagaland at 0.82 per cent and Meghalaya at 0.73 per cent.

Under ANC, pregnant women in the age group of 15-45 were tested.

ANC rate is the main indication of high prevalence of HIV-positive in a country.

Among injecting drug users (high risk group), Mizoram recorded the highest rate in the country with 19.81 per cent.

Among men having sex with men, Mizoram recorded nil incidents, while Manipur recorded the highest with 8.4 per cent, followed by Nagaland at 7.66 per cent and Karnataka at 5.4 per cent.