The daily dosage of four pills prescribed for persons infected by HIV/AIDS will soon be replaced by just one pill.
Following recent guidelines issued by the National AIDS Control Organisation, the earlier TLN regime comprising Tenofovir and Lamivudine along with Nevirapine, will be replaced by TLE, a single pill. With this, patients who were consuming two pills twice a day, will now have to consume just one.
According to a senior official from the Health and Family Welfare department, new cases are being counselled for the use of TLE. “From November, we have been counselling patients in a phased manner. Even pre-existing patients who are on TLM will soon be put on the new regime.”
When the infected persons go to antiretroviral therapy centres to procure medicine, they will be counselled on the new drug and how it has to be taken.
“Though the State government has come up with several measures, the prevalence of HIV has not gone down. To a great extent, adherence to medicines is where the problem lies. The new regime, which consists of just one pill, is likely to address this issue,” the official said, adding that priority would be given to pregnant women with HIV and HIV/ TB co-infected people.
Stock
The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS), which was on the verge of running out of the ZLN tablet (a combination of zido-vudine, lamivudine, nevirapine) stock, was instructed by the National AIDS Control Organisation to write to the Andhra Pradesh government. The stock has been sent to Karnataka, according to KSAPS.
According to the World Bank statistics, Karnataka is among four states that together contribute to 55 per cent of the total HIV-positive cases in the country.
