[procaare] Experts Express Concern over Rising Cases of Drug-Resistant HIV Strains

["Asaha Udom" <okugod@yahoo.com>]

EXPERTS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER RISING CASES OF DRUG-RESISTANT HIV STRAINS
- Asaha Udom
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(1) INDISCRIMINATE use of anti-retroviral drugs (ARV). Commonly called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) drugs, in the developing world is being blamed for the rising cases of drug-resistant Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) strains that causes AIDS. 

The findings of the study were published in the British Medical Journal by a team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

The study shows that uncontrolled prescription of ARV is widespread and rising in Africa and Asia, and urges governments and international agencies to deal with the problem. Worried by the prospect of unregulated supply of AIDS drugs accelerating the development of drugs-resistant HIV, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH) recently completed a pilot (clinical) study on ARV?s imported for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). 

The problem, according to reports, is compounded because of the worsening economic realities in developing countries where the state sector cannot or will not provide drugs, leaving patients who can afford them to naturally purchase where they can from doctors, pharmacies, market sellers, or relatives abroad. 

However, HIV experts insist that the drugs are meant to be presented and their resistance monitored. 

The leader of the team, Dr. Ruairi Brugha, obseves that patients often do not take their drugs as recommended.  He said: ?These drugs are not being used according to the correct regimens. For instance, monotherapy just giving one anti-retroviral drug is definitely bad practice. And we see evidence of that both from Zimbabwe and Uganda, and I am sure it is happening in other countries too.?  The study also noted that in some places patients are changing medication frequently, taking the wrong does, or stopping treatment in periods when they cannot afford it. 

Commenting on the study, the chairman National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) professor Babatunde Osotimehin regretted that the misuse of AIDS drugs which has become common in Africa is precisely the set of conditions under which a virus quickly becomes drug resistant. 

Osotimehin, however, noted that the National ARV programme is making sure that only those who need the drugs get it and at recommended doses. He said: ?There are set procedures before a PLWHA is recruited into the ARV programme. We have made adequate provision for the recommended dosage.? 

According to reports, HIV also is becoming resistant to established ARVs in the rigid treatment patterns of the so called developed nations. The study cautions that governments and health authorities cannot afford to wait for more dangerous resistance to emerge in the developing world. It reads: ?Doctors and clinics need treatment guidelines, supplies of drugs need to be stable, and the public sector needs to compete more effectively in providing the services that people want.?( ICEHA) The director-general of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Oni Idigbe, who heads the pilot centers told the Guardian that drug resistant strain of HIV is set to emerge if the ARV drugs are not used according to the strict guidelines. 

?We are doing everything possible to ensure that this problem does not jeopardize the ARV programme and the commitment of the Federal Government to provide treatment for PLWHA,? Idigbe said. Meanwhile, American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the sale of a new 625-mg table of nelfinavir. People living with HumanImmuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHAs) taking the new formulation now only need to take two tables twice daily. 

The report published in (ATIE ? News: Bite ? sized HIV/AIDS treatment news bulletins) notes that the new formulation of nelfinavir is as effective as the old formulation. 

Forwarded by Asaha Udom (Director)
Email: okugod@yahoo.com