Patiala, May 18 -- With injectable drugs emerging as the main contributor of sharp rise in new HIV infections, the Punjab government has ordered mandatory HIV screening of all drug addicts registered at Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centres across the state. The large-scale testing drive is set to begin from Monday. According to an official communication issued by the Punjab health department, there are 455 operational OOAT centres in Punjab, with 3,09,918 registered clients currently undergoing treatment for substance abuse. "It is imperative to screen all clients registered with OOAT centres for HIV," the department stated in the order issued to district health authorities - a copy of which is with HT. The intensified screening follows alarming findings in the latest report by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), which revealed that Punjab is one of the worst-affected states in the country for new HIV infections, ranking second only to Bihar. The report "Sankalak: Status of National AIDS & STD Response" showed that while India recorded a 47% decline in annual new HIV infections between 2010 and 2024, Punjab witnessed a 58.7% increase during the same period. Annual new infections in the state have more than doubled since 2010. Punjab recorded 6,785 new HIV infections in 2024 - the second-highest count among Indian states. Injecting drug users (IDUs) remained the biggest contributors to the spread of infection, while heterosexual contactwith non-regular and non-commercial partners accountedfor another 17% of new cases....