Free anti-retrovirals for all with HIV

[Lite Beer]

HEALTH SCHEME
Free anti-retrovirals for all with HIV
Phumpetch Roumjit
The Sunday Nation

Participants at an event held to promote better understanding of HIV/Aids, who said it is safe to eat food prepared by people living with HIV.

BANGKOK: -- Move aims to limit spread of disease, as only 54percent sufferers were able to get drugs previously, deputy minister says

Beginning this month, the government is offering free anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive people regardless of their CD4 count (a type of white blood cell).

The move is aimed at reducing the threat of Aids, as some research suggests that if people get the drug within one month of being diagnosed with HIV and continue taking anti-retroviral drugs, their HIV infection can drop so low that they will not spread the disease further. Fatality rates related to HIV could also be cut as a result.

The timely use of anti-retroviral drugs also mean that HIV-positive people have a greater chance of maintaining their health and living a relatively normal life.

Before this, patients in Thailand received anti-retroviral drugs only when they had fewer than 350 CD4s in one cubic millimetre of blood through the universal healthcare scheme. Once a person is infected with HIV, the virus starts to destroy the CD4 cells, which makes the person more vulnerable to opportunistic infections.

Anti-retroviral drugs were included as part of the universal healthcare scheme, which covers millions of Thais, from October 1, 2005.

Earlier this week, Deputy Public Health Minister Somsak Chunharas said that anti-retroviral drugs only reached about 54 per cent of all HIV-positive people in Thailand.

"So, it has become one of the government's policies to prescribe anti-retroviral drugs regardless of the CD4 level," he said, adding that free prescriptions for anti-retroviral drugs would be made through both the universal healthcare scheme and the social security scheme.

Nimit Tien-udom, director of Aids Access Foundation, welcomed the move. However, he urged the government and public to do more to improve the fate of people living with Aids/HIV.

"We need to try harder in ending or at least reducing the stigmatisation of and discrimination against those living with Aids/HIV," he said.

"What is the point of helping kids who were born with HIV, if they will eventually face hatred and discrimination when they grow up," he said.

It was hard to convince those kids that they can study, work and live a normal life in the face of widespread discrimination, he said.

"When these kids grow up and graduate, many cannot get a job because companies require them to undergo blood tests and refuse to recruit them," Nimit explained.

So, telling the public about HIV/Aids and making people accept and support these people was still needed, he said.

A woman who has lived with HIV for the past 20 years said that when people found out that she and her husband were infected, people started to avoid them.

"They stopped coming to my clothes shop," she said, adding that even her relatives felt uncomfortable with her though they did try to be supportive.

"It's because they lack true knowledge about the disease," she said.

Apiwat Kwangkaew, who leads the Thai Network of People Living With HIV/Aids, said the public should know that the disease cannot be passed to others simply through general contact or eating food cooked or prepared by a person with HIV.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Free-anti-retrovirals-for-all-with-HIV-30244777.html

-- The Nation 2014-10-05

[FangFerang]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

[aspirin]

Deputy Public Health Minister Somsak Chunharas said that anti-retroviral drugs only reached about 54 per cent of all HIV-positive people in Thailand.

Looking to correct the last government's shortcoming that affects nearly half of hundreds of thousands of Thais and their families and friends and help delay untold thousands of deaths.

Stats:

Thailand HIV cases total : 1,148,117 total (to 2009), currently 460,000 living (2013)

Deaths: 666,347 (to 2009)

[cloudhopper]

Excellent policy and I hope they can get the word out effectively.

[smedly]

introducing laws and heavy fines for those that discriminate might go a long way to helping the situation

and another key point to this subject as recognised by the WHO that effective treatment reduces the risk of an infected person passing on the disease to a practical zero - the only risk is unknown treatment failure

Very nice to see Thailand taking the lead

[smedly]

Deputy Public Health Minister Somsak Chunharas said that anti-retroviral drugs only reached about 54 per cent of all HIV-positive people in Thailand.

Looking to correct the last government's shortcoming that affects nearly half of hundreds of thousands of Thais and their families and friends and help delay untold thousands of deaths.

Stats:

Thailand HIV cases total : 1,148,117 total (to 2009), currently 460,000 living (2013)

Deaths: 666,347 (to 2009)

The stat you have not included and is generally estimated greater than the 460,000 you quoted are those that are the most dangerous to others and the primary cause for the spread of the disease - infected but undiagnosed and therefor untreated

which is why I am an advocate of compulsory testing and treatment

[Tazwa]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

Actually, in Australia HIV medication is already free and doctors can choose from a variety of types so that the most effective is administered. In Thailand, I don't know if patients get a choice.

[englishoak]

Gets my vote

[Sawan Chan 7]

Any chance a Westerner could get these drugs?

[Nemesis7]

Good Start. Hope this continues and people gets true benefits

[realenglish1]

This is long overdue and a giant leap for Thais in general. My hats off to the General for making this decision.

This is without a doubt moving in the right direction

[BudRight]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

Actually, in Australia HIV medication is already free and doctors can choose from a variety of types so that the most effective is administered. In Thailand, I don't know if patients get a choice.

Patients don't usually choose anyway. Doctors do, and they choose Stocrin and Truvada.

This is a moving topic.

[LivinLOS]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

Actually, in Australia HIV medication is already free and doctors can choose from a variety of types so that the most effective is administered. In Thailand, I don't know if patients get a choice.

Patients don't usually choose anyway. Doctors do, and they choose Stocrin and Truvada.

This is a moving topic.

I am lead to understand thats a pretty old combo.. Tho possibly what is being given free due to the indian generics..

Atripla being the current first line favorite..

[h90]

Seeing them cooking open in the dirt near the street without protection against flies... I wouldn't eat it, with or without HIV.

I would worry for Salmonella and diarrhea but not for HIV.....

[jomcondo]

Seeing them cooking open in the dirt near the street without protection against flies... I wouldn't eat it, with or without HIV.

I would worry for Salmonella and diarrhea but not for HIV.....

What the hell are you talking about?.......it's the same as that goes on in every street across the nation.

No salmonella, no diarrhoea.

[Peterphuket]

Any chance a Westerner could get these drugs?

On an earlier message on TV, I remember at the Red Cross in BKK, you'll will get it for free

[coppywriter]

At the Red Cross the HIV medicine is not free, however it is available at a very low cost. The branded one Atripla is 2,650.00 baht for a 30 day supply. The generic one from India known as Teevir is 1,090.00 baht. Anyone can go there to purchase these, Thai or foreigner it makes no difference as they do not discriminate.

The Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic
104 Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan,
Bangkok 10330
Tel: 0 2 256 4107 - 09
Fax: 0 2 254 7577

E-mail: [email protected]
Website : www.trcarc.org

Edited October 5, 2014 by coppywriter

[OKF]

Well giving free medication is one thing but really does not solve the core problem. Thailand and not only Thailand is lacking of propper education regarding HIV and STD. Really there is a need for this and a lot more effort needs to be put into that to prevent from more infections with either HIV and STD which both are a big issue in SEA. Most people have no clue about all the deseases and consequences.

Actually can someone tell me whether there is a AIDS foundation that offers such educational service for gay people, where they can go for inform themselves etc.?

Edited October 5, 2014 by OKF

[LivinLOS]

Meechai the condom king, and cabbages and condoms guy.. (and not-so-secret but invisible to the police abortion clinic right next to C&C).. Also operates a charity that does education etc..

I think you can find his charity details from a C&C search.

[coppywriter]

Well giving free medication is one thing but really does not solve the core problem. Thailand and not only Thailand is lacking of propper education regarding HIV and STD. Really there is a need for this and a lot more effort needs to be put into that to prevent from more infections with either HIV and STD which both are a big issue in SEA. Most people have no clue about all the deseases and consequences.

Actually can someone tell me whether there is a AIDS foundation that offers such educational service for gay people, where they can go for inform themselves etc.?

There are many different websites that you can start with.

http://www.thebody.com/

http://www.tht.org.uk/

or just google HIV and search from there.

[Joe Black]

Ive always been curious as to the exact number of HIV infected people in Thailand as well as the demographic.....working girls ,drug addicts etc.

[Peterphuket]

Well giving free medication is one thing but really does not solve the core problem. Thailand and not only Thailand is lacking of propper education regarding HIV and STD. Really there is a need for this and a lot more effort needs to be put into that to prevent from more infections with either HIV and STD which both are a big issue in SEA. Most people have no clue about all the deseases and consequences.

Actually can someone tell me whether there is a AIDS foundation that offers such educational service for gay people, where they can go for inform themselves etc.?

Or maybe this can help you

http://www.aidsmap.com/

[h90]

Seeing them cooking open in the dirt near the street without protection against flies... I wouldn't eat it, with or without HIV.

I would worry for Salmonella and diarrhea but not for HIV.....

What the hell are you talking about?.......it's the same as that goes on in every street across the nation.

No salmonella, no diarrhoea.

No Diarrhea??? From 15 staff, there is one per month that get food poisoning, so he/she needs doctor.

In Europe that is maybe 1 out of 100 per year.

[h90]

(Deleted quote edited out)

I finished University 2000 with a masterdegree of biotechnology and there was no debate anymore if HIV is the cause of AIDS.

There are basically 2 different tests for HIV: One checks if you have anti-bodies against the virus. That test is cheap and fast, but sometimes negative if it should be positive.

The other is PCR. That searches direct for the RNA (the virus uses RNA instead of DNA) of the virus in the blood. That is slow, expensive but exactly.

The virus is damaging the immune system. So you don't die from the HIV, but from other diseases.

The reason why there is no vaccine for HIV is the ever changing surface of it. As it uses RNA it has a very bad error correction and there all the time new modifications from it.

Already 2000 there was a cure for it. It cured infected cells. But this antibody mix could not be produced in mass (mass= not even enough for 1 person) and the complete project was terminated in the anti gene hysteria. But now some companies try this approach again.

HIV=cause of AIDS. Maybe not of 100% but of 99.9%

Edited October 5, 2014 by Scott

[mrjohndub]

More populist policies from the General, eh?

Just kidding. Wonderful move, very appropriate and compassionate.

[Scott]

Conspiracy posts and other posts and replies deleted.

Also posts critical of the news team have been removed

[djvolak]

Where exactly are they giving these free meds? Sounds strange that they say free but do not say where you go to get em. I think that is a great idea as a lot of the people infected are poor..

[bongoz]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

Actually, in Australia HIV medication is already free and doctors can choose from a variety of types so that the most effective is administered. In Thailand, I don't know if patients get a choice.

Ummm... no it's not free in Australia, it's on the PBS $36.90 or $6.00 concession (may have increased due to Abbott), some organisations may provide free medicine or help you pay for it. HIV drugs cost between $500 and $1800 per month per drug, it easily costs over $2000 per month for HIV drugs. Many other new drugs can cost of $2000 per month - pharmaceuticals are VERY expensive.

The therapy is called "combination therapy" a patient is on a combination of drugs and the combination ins't changed unless there are server side effects of the combination isn't keeping the viral load 'under control'. Many HIV positive patients have a viral load of "undetectable", all this means is that their viral load is VERY small and extremely expensive teats are required to get an accurate result. The doctor has to be approved to write scripts for the drugs (s100) and the Federal Government (PBS) has to give approval for the script to be written, they can't be filled at a 'normal' chemist.

"HIV infection can drop so low that they will not spread the disease further"

That is such a DANGEROUS and UNTRUE statement. The is NO cure for HIV and the is ALWAYS the possibility of a HIV positive person infecting someone, their 'combination' may not be suppressing the disease as it has in the past, of the patient could have been infected with a different strain of HIV, there are so many other reasons. If this is the official Thai line HIV infections will continue to rise.

[BudRight]

OUTSTANDING! Kudos to all involved. Thais do many things better than the West, and this is one of them.

As frustrating and confusing as Thailand often can be, it is a good place (because there are many, many good Thais here).

Actually, in Australia HIV medication is already free and doctors can choose from a variety of types so that the most effective is administered. In Thailand, I don't know if patients get a choice.

Patients don't usually choose anyway. Doctors do, and they choose Stocrin and Truvada.

This is a moving topic.

I am lead to understand thats a pretty old combo.. Tho possibly what is being given free due to the indian generics..

Atripla being the current first line favorite..

Truvada is available generic.

Stocrin is not.

The three drugs, emtricitabine and tenofovir (Truvada) and sustiva (Stocrin) in one-pill-once-a-day form is called Atripla.

Edited October 5, 2014 by BudRight

[coppywriter]

ATRIPLA Is 600mg efavirenz, 200mg emtricitabine, 300mg tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in one pill taken once daily.