3 hospitals run critically low on HIV testing kits

“The contract for the supplier expired two years ago and the process for initiating a new tender has been taking time. Emergency purchases have been made for the immediate future and we are trying to expedite the process of issuing new tenders. Till then,the centre will keep making emergency purchases to ensure there is no shortage of supply in any of the anti-retro viral therapy (ART) centres,”a NACO official said.

The Delhi State AIDS Control Society (DSACS),through NACO,replenished the test kits and reagents at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital,Lok Nayak (LN) Hospital and Dr B S Ambedkar Hospital last week.

Four centres in Manipur,three in Nagaland and one each in Agra,Haryana and Mumbai have also been supplied emergency stocks.

A doctor in LN Hospital’s ART centre said since March,the DSACS had been intimated several times about the shortage of stock.

“We were getting no new supplies,so we kept sending reminders. Each time,we were told that purchases for ART centres are made by the Central government,that states were not responsible. Last week,we had no option but to refer patients to other hospitals like RML,” he said.

The test,which measures the count of a type of white blood cells that fight the viral infection,is crucial to decide when to start the treatment for AIDS and also monitor the efficacy of the drugs.

According to NACO guidelines,treatment should start when CD4 cells fall below 350 cells/mm of blood. “Without the test,we lose a crucial tool to manage our patients who are on treatment and screen new entries. The test is also important for monitoring pregnancies in HIV positive women,to prevent mother to child transmission of the virus,” the doctor said.

DSACS officials said they had informed NACO,as had states such as Nagaland and Manipur where ARV drugs were running out.

Paul Lhungdim of the Delhi Network of Positive People said their representatives had also informed DSACS about the growing shortage,but was met with the same response.

“We had given names of hospitals,before supplies completely ran out,so that they could replenish the stock in time. The situation became alarming last week as there were no kits available in three hospitals in Delhi,” he said.