Ludhiana: 11 HIV cases detected among TB patients

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11 HIV cases detected among TB patients

Simran Virk, TNN, Jul 18, 2010,

LUDHIANA: It seems that the health department's purpose of keeping track of TB

patients, facing a HIV risk, has been solved. As the department has started the

concept of offering voluntary HIV testing and compulsory counselling to

patients, 11 new HIV cases have been identified in the second quarter.

Sources said in the second quarter, after a total of 800 TB patients, who never

had undergone for HIV testing were checked, and 11 were found HIV positive. The

integrated package had been started on April 1 where all the TB patients coming

for the sputum tests were given the voluntary counselling on HIV and were

motivated to go for the testing at the integrated counselling and testing

centres. Till now, the district health department did not have the data

regarding the number of TB patients suffering from HIV.

While giving the information, one of the officials of the health department said

that under this program counselling would be given at the integrated centre,

and, if the TB patient agrees to go for the test and turns positive for HIV,

then he/she will be given antiretroviral drugs free. At present, more than 500

TB patients are coming only in civil hospital for the sputum tests.

On the condition of anonymity, one of the staff members of the ICTC Centre said

that mostly people who were suffering from TB were at higher risk of getting the

infection but due to the lack of awareness they did not come for the voluntary

tests and patients themselves were not aware that they were suffering from HIV.

While giving the information, district TB officer Ashish Chawla said that this

had been started with the aim to create awareness among the TB patients and to

check the incidence among the TB patients as with this it was clear that almost

1% of the patients suffering from TB were suffering from HIV.

Dr Chawla added that along with the status of HIV patients, it would be helpful

to provide them treatment after checking the patients and would be helpful in

deciding the follow-up treatment.

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