HIV Mortality Decreases in India after introduction of generic HAART in India

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HIV Mortality Decreases in India

The introduction of lower-cost generic HIV drugs in

India has encouraged more people to seek treatment,

substantially dropping the rate of HIV deaths.

Many of the more than 5 million HIV-infected people in

India have been unable to obtain treatment due to the

high cost. But with the introduction of generic

anti-retroviral therapy into India in 2000, the price

of HIV drugs fell from $778 a month to $33 per month

in 2003.

That sparked a rise in the number of people seeking

and obtaining treatment. Researchers said in 1996,

only 13 percent of Indian HIV patients were able to

afford treatment. That number rose to 44 percent in

2003.

Despite the improvement offered by the ART drugs, they

also caused some side effects, such as rash, nausea,

diarrhea, headache and anemia. But patients apparently

saw the benefits outweighed the toxicities, said lead

author Dr. Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy of the Y.R.

Gaitonde Center for AIDS Research and Education in

Chennai. He said with still yet lower prices expected

comes further encouragement for Indian HIV patients to

seek treatment.

The report is detailed in the Nov. 15 issue of

Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

Source: United Press International

Here's the abstract of the original article

The Changing Natural History of HIV Disease: Before

and After the Introduction of Generic Antiretroviral

Therapy in Southern India

N. Kumarasamy,1 Suniti ,1 Sreekanth K.

Chaguturu,2 Anitha J. Cecelia,1 Snigdha Vallabhaneni,2

P. Flanigan,2 and H. Mayer2

1YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary

Health Services, Chennai, India, and 2Division of

Infectious Diseases, Miriam Hospital, Brown

University, Providence, Rhode Island

The number of individuals seeking treatment for

infection with human immunodeficiency virus increased

as the cost of highly active antiretroviral therapy

(HAART) decreased 20-fold after the introduction of

generic HAART in India in the year 2000. The incidence

of tuberculosis and opportunistic infections decreased

to <2 cases per 100 person-years. Death rates

decreased from 25 to 5 deaths per 100 person-years

between 1997 and 2003.

Received 30 March 2005; accepted 11 July 2005;

electronically published 13 October 2005.

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. N. Kumarasamy,

YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Voluntary

Health Services, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India

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HDP

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