An 18-month-old child has tested positive for HIV, taking the number of confirmed paediatric cases linked to Valika Hospital and nearby areas to 95 over the past year, hospital sources said.
The child, identified as Abdul Samad, was treated at Valika Hospital in December 2025, according to his father.
The father said the child remained continuously ill for several months, prompting the family to have him tested for HIV. The test later confirmed that he was HIV positive.
He said he had five children and planned to have the other four tested as a precaution.
Hospital sources said 95 children had been confirmed HIV positive during the past year. They added that nine children living in areas near Valika Hospital had died after contracting HIV during the same period.
The latest case has renewed concern over the continued rise in HIV infections among children in the area.