Mizoram has moved up to third place nationally in HIV prevention performance, improving from fifth position last year, while continuing to report the highest adult HIV prevalence rate in the country at 2.75 percent, significantly above the national average of 0.20 percent.

Mizoram State AIDS Control Society Project Director Jane R Ralte said the state has shown a declining trend in new HIV infections since 2018. She stated that Mizoram’s improved ranking reflects better performance on the National AIDS Control Organisation scorecard for prevention and response measures.

Between April 2024 and November 2025, more than 1.4 lakh blood samples were tested in the state, leading to the detection of 3,257 new HIV cases. These included 953 women and 179 pregnant women. The highest number of cases was reported among individuals aged 25 to 34 years.

Data showed that 70.4 percent of the new infections were due to sexual transmission, while 27.3 percent were linked to needle-sharing among intravenous drug users. Mother-to-child transmission accounted for 1.8 percent of cases, and 0.8 percent were attributed to unknown sources.

Since the first HIV case was detected in Mizoram in October 1990, the state has recorded a total of 33,781 infections. At present, around 26,321 people are living with HIV, with 18,355 receiving antiretroviral therapy at 14 state-run treatment centres. A total of 5,026 AIDS-related deaths have been reported since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in 2005.

Health Minister Lalrinpuii said the state government is continuing its prevention efforts, including plans to work with churches to promote pre-marital HIV testing and expand awareness programmes.