The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

Oration on April 7

Chandigarh, April 5
Dr S.K. Malik Memorial Oration, instituted in memory of the late former head of department of chest diseases, PGI, Chandigarh, who died in May 1988, will be held on Saturday.

The oration will be delivered by Dr Ruby Pawankar, professor of rhinology and allergy, Tokyo University, Japan.

Professor Pawankar, a renowned researcher of allergic mechanism, will speak about her work on mast cells and airway inflammation. She will also deliberate upon the concepts of irreversible obstruction in asthma and of the link between nasal and bronchial allergy. — TNS

Workshop on ethics in research

Chandigarh, April 5
The PGIMER, Chandigarh, which has an independent institute ethics committee, chaired by director-general, Indian Council Medical Research, scientists, retired judges, and sociologists as it members besides a few faculty members, will hold a two-day workshop on “Ethical review for protection of human participants in research” from Saturday.

Experts in the field of medical ethics from different parts of the country will deliver lectures and participate in panel discussion. The topics include role and responsibilities of IEC; legalities in ethics; informed consent form and method of application; risk-benefit analysis; ethics in new technologies, publication, and stored tissues. — TNS

Non-availability of ARV drug type increases risk to HIV patients
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5
State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) in most parts of India, especially north, have been doing without one of eight vital combinations of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.

Stavudine 40 mg two-drug combination, the ARV drug type administered to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs) who are over 60 kg in weight, has been out of stock at many antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres for about a month.

In North India, especially, the problem is grave, considering the region has a large number of PLHAs who are more than 60 kg in weight.

The shortage has left the patients with no option but to buy the drugs privately at a cost that can range between Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 per month. Several patients, being poor, have had to go without the drug type over the period of its shortage as they have been unable to afford the cost of treatment.

The problem still persists and continues to disturb the HIV experts’ mandate of ART drug adherence for HIV infected. Non-adherence to any drug combination for any reason defeats the purpose of ART as it increases the patient’s chances of developing resistance to the HIV virus - something which regular ARV drug treatment fights.

In this particular case, the fear of patients developing resistance to the virus holds good, with even doctors administering ART drugs admitting that the shortage has proved very disturbing to the HIV treatment strategy.

“The shortage should not have been allowed to exist. It should have been addressed in advance, especially when AIDS control societies all over the country, including the one at Chandigarh, have been sending repeated reminders to National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) to fill the gap,” a source said.

Another problem is that NACO prohibits local state AIDS control societies from procuring the out-of-stock drugs locally for issues of quality control and testing. Last year when a similar problem of non-availability of drugs had arisen, Chandigarh SACS and societies at other centres had purchased the drugs at local level to ensure that treatment did not suffer. However, they were soon prevented from doing so through a circular that NACO issued.

Sources in NACO, meanwhile, said non- availability of Stavudine 40 mg two-drug type had been caused due to error in the assumption of patients requiring such a combination.

“We had expected a certain number of patients to seek this drug combination. But we ended up getting more than expected. We are in the process of procuring drugs from a Bangalore-based company.

The supply order had been delayed. We will send the drugs within the next four days,” said a top NACO official, adding that the other drug combinations were in regular supply.

SPORTS

Jupiter House overall winner
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5
Sahil Bajaj and Jaspreet Kaur were declared best sportspersons at the annual sports day of St Stephen's School, Sector 45, here, today.

The day was held to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of the school. Jupiter House won the overall trophy accumulating 92 points whereas the second position was secured by Mars House with 70 points. Neptune House finished third with 59 points.

Earlier, cricket Dronacharya Desh Prem Azad inaugurated the sports meet. The chief guest, Balbir Singh Senior, an Olympian, D.P. Azad and principal Harold Harver, jointly distributed the prizes.