10 years away from an HIV vaccine

[Guest guest]

10 years away from a vaccine

GEETANJALI PATOLE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2004 05:06:21 AM ]

If ever India needed a wake-up call on the reality of HIV/Aids in

here, it has come from one of the pioneering doctors battling against

the disease. PT, has, over the last few weeks put both the human drug

trials and the funding for Aids under the microscope as far as the

State goes. Rs 100 crore will come Maharashtra 's way. When Dr

P Nadler begins to speak you realise that it's a figure

dwarfed by a modern plague that in Nadler's words, " we are

underestimating. "

HIV and Dr Nadler have been at war since 1980. But not until recently

has Dr Nadler's research on antiretroviral drugs and an Aids vaccines

begun to threaten the future of the virus. At best, it still remains

a threat.

In Pune, as part of the ongoing CHART-India Annual HIV management

course, Dr Nadler minces no words. " At the risk of sounding

presumptuous, I think that the official surveillance figures on the

number of HIV/Aids cases in India are largely underestimated. Also,

it's a misunderstanding that most of the infections are restricted to

the lower strata of the society. There are quiet a few from the

middle-class who are susceptible to the virus, " he tells us.

" The delay in the vaccine is mainly because researchers are still

looking for a major breakthrough. At a rough estimate, it would be

about 10 years before someone comes out with a vaccine. And that

would be a `best case scenario', " says Nadler who is part of the

University of South Florida-India initiative aimed at tackling the

Aids epidemic and other health issues like tuberculosis and malaria

in India.

As director of Clinical Research, Division of Infectious Diseases,

University of South Florida College of Medicine, Dr Nadler has been

overseeing an active clinical research programme with interests in

HIV, hepatitis B and C.

" India has a dire need for trained physicians in HIV, because that

forms an important part of the treatment programme. The objectives of

CHART-India is to provide state-of-the-art information in the

knowledge of antiretroviral drugs, diagnostics and treatment of the

complications of HIV/Aids, laboratory diagnostic tools and research, "

he says.

Joining Dr Nadler in Pune at the Ruby Hall, is Dr F Toney, who

blames the delay for a vaccine on several factors, including the

ability of the virus to mutate.

Dr Nadler's wife, Constance R Price, is also here and she specialises

in counselling for Patient Medication Adherence. " A lot of public

awareness has to be raised concerning the stigmas attached to the

disease.

Discrimination against patients has to be removed. If the

discrimination is removed, more and more people will be encouraged to

go in for testing, " she says.

With 4.5 million HIV cases in India , it's a sobering picture that

these experts paint. We can only hope the relevant authorities are

listening.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/442633.cms