27% rise in HIV patients being treated at Mumbai ART centres

The number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients registered with the city’s anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres, which offer free medicines, rose to 39,040 (27%) till November 2019, from 30,697 in 2015-16. Experts said the number has gone up as the life expectancy among HIV patients has become “almost normal” owing to the therapy which uses a combination of drugs to suppress the virus and stop the progress of the disease. HT had reported earlier that the number of new HIV cases has declined over the past five years.

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Mumbai has 25 ART centres, including a few in jails. According to the Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS) data, the number of patients undergoing ART was 31,817 in 2016-17, jumped to 33,087 in 2017-18 and 36,437 in 2018-19.

Doctors said two decades ago, the life expectancy for an HIV-infected 20-year-old person was around 10 years, which has now increased to over 40 years due to advancement in medicines. “In cases of HIV, the immunity of patients get affected, making them susceptible to comorbid diseases (like tuberculosis or pneumonia) easily, which ultimately leads to their death. With better medicines under ART, we are able to boost the immunity of patients, which has helped increase their lifespan,” said Dr Srikala Acharya, additional project director of MDACS.

Ganesh Acharya, an HIV-infected patient who has been on ART for 25 years, said, “Two decades ago, HIV was considered a death sentence, with relatives isolating and disowning patients. With regular intake of medicines, I have been able to live a normal life like others.”

In 2015, the number of new HIV infection cases detected in the city was 7,526, which dropped to 6,663 in 2016, 5,826 in 2017, 5,220 in 2018 and 3,105 till August 2019.

Health activists highlight the need to start more centres as patients staying far away from the centres skip or are irregular with the treatment that could lead to drug resistance among patients.

“According to Central government rules, patients are generally given medicines for a month. But often due to shortage of drugs, patients are forced to miss their daily dose, which makes them resistant, increasing chances of mortality,” said Dr IS Gilada, consultant in HIV/STDs and president, AIDS Society of India (ASI).

The Union health ministry seeks to make the country HIV/AIDS-free by 2030 with the 90–90–90 strategy. Under this, their target is to identify 90% living with HIV, place 90% of people identified as living with HIV on treatment and ensure that 90% of people on treatment have sustained viral load suppression. They also plan to include a new drug –Dolutegravir – for the treatment by February 2020.

“With rising awareness and better screening, patients are being diagnosed at an early stage. Also, ten years ago, they had to take over two dozens of medicines, which has come down to only one-two with fewer side effects,” said Dr Naresh Goel, deputy director-general, National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).