Mumbai Hospital will distribute free AIDS drug

May 17, 2002

Mumbai hospital will distribute free AIDS drug

The Asian Age 17 May, 2002:MUMBAI, MAY 16: The K.J. Somaiya Hospital and Medical

College will be the first private hospital to offer Nevirapine prophylaxis to

patients of its gynaecology department free of cost.

The drug has proved effective in preventing the transfer of HIV/AIDS from

pregnant women to their unborn foetus and is being promoted by the Maharahstra

District AIDS Control Society as part of a programme to prevent and control the

spread of AIDS.

It has been found that there is a 25 to 14 per cent chance of HIV being

transmitted from mothers to their babies in developing countries, as opposed to

a 15 to 25 per risk in developed countries due to the practise of breast

feeding. 100,000 HIV-infected women deliver every year, leaving the world with

30,000 infected infants.

In a study conducted between April 2000 and September 2001 in 11 institutions in

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Manipur by the National

AIDS Control Organisation and the government of India, 40 per cent of the woman

in ante natal care said their spouses had multiple sex partners. The programme

was conceived by the National AIDS Control Society under the guidance of UNICEF

and is being worked out through state level bodies like MDACS.

Dr. Shanta Shivkumar of MDACS said: “The project has been running in other

medical colleges like Nair, KEM, and JJ Hospital. But among private hospitals,

Somiaya is the first one.”

Under the programme, certain centres are selected and provided with basic

infrastructure such as diagnostic kits, a refrigerator, infant meter and of

course, the drug. Speaking about the rationale behind the project, Dr Lalit

Mehta, dean of K.J. Somaiya Hospital and Medical College, said: “The disease is

being fought at different levels. Since there is no treatment available, the

only cure is prevention. Banners and slogans are one way by which prevention can

be done. Another front is the prevention of transmission from mother to baby.

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Dr.Jagdish Harsh ( jharsh@... )

Director of Administration and Operations

François-Xavier Bagnoud INDIA ( www.fxb.org )

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