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This is an archive article published on May 11, 2011
Govt centres to provide second-line drugs for HIV soon
A little less than half the patients on treatment since 2005 as many as 4,500 have succumbed to AIDS,according to records at the anti-retroviral treatment centre of the Sassoon General Hospital.
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A little less than half the patients on treatment since 2005 as many as 4,500 have succumbed to AIDS,according to records at the anti-retroviral treatment (ART) centre of the Sassoon General Hospital. The ART centres in the city will soon start the second-line regimen of drugs to prevent further deaths.
As many as 23,000 persons living with HIV have registered themselves at the Sassoon ART centre,which has been functional since 2005. While a majority of these patients hail from the city and surrounding areas,there are 10,000 persons on treatment now,of whom 700 are children.
The resistance to the first-line drugs had led to an increasing demand for second line of treatment,which was available at an exorbitant cost in the private sector till now. JJ Hospital in Mumbai was the sole government centre distributing the second-line drugs so far.
Dr D B Kadam,head of ART centre,Sassoon Hospital,said around 250 persons from Pune had been sent to JJ Hospital for the second-line drugs and 45 persons were already on these drugs. With the new development,those living with HIV who cannot tolerate the first line of treatment will not have to travel to Mumbai for second-line drugs. Drugs have already been sent to the four ART centres at Sassoon,YCM Hospital,Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and National AIDS Research Institute (NARI).
Ramesh Deokar,project director of Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS),said the second-line drugs would also be made available in Aurangabad and Nagpur.
A Supreme Court directive had earlier allowed patients taking second-line drugs against HIV/AIDS to shift from private hospitals to government facilities. Kadam said Pune would start the second-line facility by mid-June.
Dr R S Paranjape,director of National AIDS Research Institute (NARI),said the tests were expensive and kits were needed to examine the plasma samples of patients. After the virus particles are detected in samples,we can identify the person for second-line drugs.
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Meanwhile,various organisations in Pune will join the global AIDS Week of Action to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS by conducting a candlelight memorial on May 15. The event will also welcome the decision to provide the second-line drugs at ART centres in the city. The theme of the 2011 candlelight memorial is Touching lives.
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