Thai Doctors Develop New Test Kit For HIV Drug Resistance Testing

[webfact]

Thai doctors develop new test kit for HIV drug resistance testing

BANGKOK, March 2 - Thai doctors and medical researchers have developed a test kit to measure HIV drug resistance assaying with high sensitivity, an invention which will help reduce risks of allergic reactions and lower medical treatment costs of HIV patients.

Assoc Prof Dr Wasun Chantratita, chief of virology at Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, together with Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) have developed high sensitivity (Deep Sequencing) test kit for HIV drug resistance testing, a method more efficient in detecting the drug-resistant virus than the previous Sanger sequencing method.

Dr Wasun explained the analysis was carried out on a Next Generation Sequencer platform, which can increase the ability to detect HIV-1 drug-resistant virus some 100-200 times higher than the original Sanger sequencing method. The new assay can detect HIV-1 drug resistant viruses in mixtures of wild type viruses which are susceptible to antiretroviral drugs in the ratio 1 to 500 or 1 per 1000.

The experiment came as the National Health Security Office reported the number of Thais infected with HIV-1 drug resistant viruses has increased significantly. One reason is that the use of anti-retroviral drugs among people infected with HIV increases. The new test kit is expected to improve effectiveness in administering drugs to individual HIV patients, reduce risks of allergic reactions and lower public health expenditures.

Dr Wasun asserted being able to detect HIV-1 drug resistant viruses in small amounts can be highly beneficial in HIV-1 therapy because doctors will be able to change the type of drugs to the patients faster. The sooner, the better, otherwise, the virus will resist all drug regimens. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-03-02

[elshaheen]

Jesus Christ, this virus is becoming more and more aggressive and keeps evolving into different strands. I hope People know, that playing this kind of Russian roulette with their partner, wife or significant other or "friend" will be wise.

Edited March 2, 2011 by elshaheen

[Chunky1]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

[Credo]

Is this a significant development or is this just an improvement of an existing test? Is this significantly different than the original testing method.

[Bagwan]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

If you read other threads I think you will find that Thais are saying that they are not very smart, or at least the kids aren't.. This is about one doctor and a few others who did the work while he gets the credit. The people involved are a microscopic proportion of the population of Thailand.

[endure]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

If you read other threads I think you will find that Thais are saying that they are not very smart, or at least the kids aren't.. This is about one doctor and a few others who did the work while he gets the credit. The people involved are a microscopic proportion of the population of Thailand.

That's true of all countries, not just Thailand.

[Trentham]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

Well 4 different Thai doctors were treating me for acid reflux disease for the last 3 years at a modern hospital near Silom which caters to farang. I even went to the emergency department in the middle of the night on 2 occasions with very severe pain and was put on drips to control it. A few months ago I came home to Australia for a visit and went to the doctor here. Within 2 weeks he discovered I have cancer in my pancreas. The Thai doctors could not find that in more than 2 years. Thai doctors, through not doing the required tests, may have cost me my life.

[alant]

this looks like an application rather than a test and if so it is a benefit and well done. interesting to see if the application / test can commercialised. lets see what Roche think.

[geriatrickid]

Wow, what a misleading article and one that ignores sequencing research for the past decade. The Sanger test was developed in the 1970’s. R&D did not stop with Freddy Sanger’s discovery. The Thai test might be a new variant, but the concept of deep sequencing tests has been around for several years. For example, as far back as 2004 Roche through its 453 bio science company has provided advanced sequencing testing equipment. Monogram Biosciences has been doing the testing for years. Nice spin to the story.

Of greater concern should be; Dr Wasun asserted being able to detect HIV-1 drug resistant viruses in small amounts can be highly beneficial in HIV-1 therapy because doctors will be able to change the type of drugs to the patients faster. The sooner, the better, otherwise, the virus will resist all drug regimens

Reading between the lines is that Thailand has a nice big reservoir of infectious subjects that do not respond to the current drug treatments. The problem Thailand has is that its position on respecting intellectual property rights means that a great many innovative new drugs are not readily available in Thailand. Test all they want, but a resistant strain isn't going to respond to treatment unless the right drugs are used, and the current Thai medicine cabinet is not fully stocked. Not that it matters since the poor cannot afford the drugs anyway. And before anyone says so what, the poor are usually what ends up working in the bars which means that it has a direct impact on the lovelorn foreigners that meet their dearest love.

It's a rather depressing story, if one is keeping abreast of the rising number of seropositives in Thailand.

[Amras]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

If you read other threads I think you will find that Thais are saying that they are not very smart, or at least the kids aren't.. This is about one doctor and a few others who did the work while he gets the credit. The people involved are a microscopic proportion of the population of Thailand.

That's the case everywhere in research. The head researcher always gets the most prestige from any outcome. This is not a Thailand anomoly.

[Amras]

Wow, what a misleading article and one that ignores sequencing research for the past decade. The Sanger test was developed in the 1970's. R&D did not stop with Freddy Sanger's discovery. The Thai test might be a new variant, but the concept of deep sequencing tests has been around for several years. For example, as far back as 2004 Roche through its 453 bio science company has provided advanced sequencing testing equipment. Monogram Biosciences has been doing the testing for years. Nice spin to the story.

It may have existed true, but my understanding is they never claimed to invent the deep sequencing method, only a test kit which uses that method to detect drug resitant HIV strains, which would appear to have not been done before. To me it is not misleading at all.

D

Of greater concern should be; Dr Wasun asserted being able to detect HIV-1 drug resistant viruses in small amounts can be highly beneficial in HIV-1 therapy because doctors will be able to change the type of drugs to the patients faster. The sooner, the better, otherwise, the virus will resist all drug regimens

Reading between the lines is that Thailand has a nice big reservoir of infectious subjects that do not respond to the current drug treatments. The problem Thailand has is that its position on respecting intellectual property rights means that a great many innovative new drugs are not readily available in Thailand. Test all they want, but a resistant strain isn't going to respond to treatment unless the right drugs are used, and the current Thai medicine cabinet is not fully stocked. Not that it matters since the poor cannot afford the drugs anyway. And before anyone says so what, the poor are usually what ends up working in the bars which means that it has a direct impact on the lovelorn foreigners that meet their dearest love.

It's a rather depressing story, if one is keeping abreast of the rising number of seropositives in Thailand.

A nice big reservoir? Umm, thats an elegant way of putting it isn't it? Can you please provide your source to what is and is not available in the drug market in Thailand to treat diseases? I find it hard to believe that this medication isn't available. 'Copying' drugs isn't quite as simple as burning an illegal CD. It takes years to be able to make 'generics' of patented drugs and Thailand actually has pharmaceutical (big company representation) manufacturing in country for local and export markets.

These drugs are not cheap anywhere, regardless of Thailand. Even in AUS HIV therapy can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your life depending when you get it. For most people that is even unaffordable.

[Konini]

And farang claim that Thais aren't smart?

Well 4 different Thai doctors were treating me for acid reflux disease for the last 3 years at a modern hospital near Silom which caters to farang. I even went to the emergency department in the middle of the night on 2 occasions with very severe pain and was put on drips to control it. A few months ago I came home to Australia for a visit and went to the doctor here. Within 2 weeks he discovered I have cancer in my pancreas. The Thai doctors could not find that in more than 2 years. Thai doctors, through not doing the required tests, may have cost me my life.

This doesn't only happen in Thailand. English doctors treated my father for acid reflux or an ulcer (they didn't test) for a few years. Lung cancer; and it did cost him his life. The fact he was a smoker and was down the coal mines all his working life appeared not to have been considered. I lived in Aus for 20 years and couldn't believe the standards in UK were so low. My mother-in-law is facing a similar thing, after being treated for a minor bowel problem for several months. Fingers crossed that the test results tomorrow aren't the worst. I'm sure many others have similar stories.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Konini