Coronavirus in Iran; Warning of increase in AIDS and tuberculosis
Masoud Mardani, a member of the AIDS Committee and the National Headquarters for Combating Corona, warned of a new wave of other infectious diseases, including AIDS and tuberculosis, during the Corona era.
Masoud Mardani, a member of the National Committee to Combat AIDS and the National Headquarters to Combat Corona, criticized the neglect of the fight against infectious diseases and their increase during the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.
According to ILNA, Mardani said on Wednesday, November 10, that one of the major problems is the increased attention to the coronavirus disease and the neglect and simplification of the spread of other very common diseases, including AIDS and tuberculosis in Iran. According to him, the spread of tuberculosis in Iran has never been as high as it was in the past two years.
This member of the National AIDS Committee said: "With the spread of the coronavirus, the management of treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of AIDS has lost its primary position in the last two years."
According to Mardani, diagnosing or fighting other common diseases has been overshadowed by the coronavirus, and doctors have "either forgotten or not given it importance" in screening methods and discovering new cases of the disease.
He said: "There have always been cases of Congo fever that led to death reported from provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan. In the two years that the coronavirus existed, the reported cases of the disease reached their lowest point. Some reports in scientific articles have shown that some patients were not diagnosed until the last moment they had this disease, because everyone thought it might be the coronavirus."
“ The youth of the population is a non-professional”
Mardani, while pointing out the severe shortage of drugs to combat the HIV virus, warned of the possibility of a new wave of AIDS. He said: "Even the meetings we have had for the National Committee for Combating and Controlling AIDS, not a single one has been held in the last two years, and this shows that the vulnerability of those infected with HIV is high."
Masoud Mardani said that currently, given the restrictions placed on people's use of contraceptive methods to encourage childbearing, a large number of sexually transmitted diseases will be added.
A member of the National AIDS Scientific Committee said: "Using condoms is one of the most important protective barriers to prevent gonorrhea, chlamydia, and sexually transmitted infections, and people may contract these diseases when they do not have condoms available."
According to ILNA news agency, Masoud Mardani called the population rejuvenation plan “completely unprofessional” and emphasized that “even with the approval of the Guardian Council, [this plan] must be withdrawn and worked on again.” He also raised the question of how many pediatricians and geneticists worked on this plan?
The Youth Plan, which was approved by the Guardian Council on November 10, was approved by a commission in the parliament without a public hearing. The plan grants financial and employment benefits to people with children, while also setting restrictions on contraception and abortion.
Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly referred to the need to increase Iran’s population and to get married and have children in a timely manner in recent years. The policy of increasing the population in Iran began with Khamenei’s speeches in 2013. In his speech, he called population increase one of the “vital needs of the country today and tomorrow.” He emphasized that Iran’s population should reach 100 to 150 million people.
Source: DW
