Guwahati, Sept. 16 -- Injecting drug use is emerging as one of the biggest drivers of Assam's growing HIV burden, with the proportion of new cases linked to needle-sharing rising sharply over the past five years, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

Cases attributed to injecting drug use accounted for 8.5 per cent of new detections in 2020-21. That share rose to around 60-65 per cent in 2023-25.

The rise has come alongside a steep increase in the number of people living with HIV in the state. Assam recorded 33,145 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in 2025-26, up from 11,364 in 2020-21.

That is now the highest PLHIV count among the eight northeastern states. Mizoram has 26,321, followed by Nagaland with...