Indian govt to merge TB and HIV initiatives
18/06/2008
The Indian government has outlined plans to encourage collaboration between anti-Aids and anti-tuberculosis (TB) healthcare initiatives.
TB is currently the biggest killer of HIV sufferes in India, with the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) saying that six out of ten HIV-positive patients end up dieing of the airborne disease.
Seeking to break this deadly link, the country has now integrated its national Aids and TB programmes and is preparing to launch a drive offering free HIV testing to all TB patients.
Under the plans, each of India's 4,567 Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) will be equipped with enough facilities to screen every single TB patient it cares for.
Those found to be suffering from co-infection will then be put on an antibiotic prophylactic treatment with co-trimoxazole - intended to minimise susceptibility to pneumonia - before being referred to an antiretroviral clinic.
Alluding to long-term care plans for patients, Dr Rahul Thakur, Naco's national consultant for TB/HIV, told the Times of India: "Selective testing for HIV will continue on those diagnosed with TB if they are found to have a high-risk behaviour and are suffering from sexually transmitted infections.
He added: "All TB patients, irrespective of their lifestyle, will be offered free HIV testing. We believe 50,000-80,000 people suffer from HIV/TB co-infection in India. In 2007-2008, we managed to locate 40,000 of them, as against just 9,000 the previous year."
Earlier this month, the UN warned that the growing threat of TB was holding back global progress on the HIV/Aids front.
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