CRI NEWS

Free AIDS Drugs Trigger Stong Side Effects

2004-5-10 18:17:47 CRIENGLISH.com

Last July China started to provide free anti-retroviral drugs that hold AIDS at bay for all HIV/AIDS sufferers in rural areas and for those in urban areas who are not covered by medical insurance and lack the economic means to pay for treatment, a rare practice in the world! Up to now, more than 6,000 HIV carriers are receiving regular treatment. However, some AIDS sufferers have stopped treatment due to strong side effects. Joining me in the studio now is our reporter Cheng Hao

CH: Yes, Jon. Like you've mentioned, for most HIV/AIDS sufferers in China, the free medication scheme initiated last year brought a ray of hope; but the strong side effects triggered by the medicine eroded their enthusiasm for embracing the government's effort to combat the deadly virus.

Jon: Where and when have the side effects of AIDS medication been reported?

CH: It was reported earlier first in Xincai County in central China's Henan Province. Some 470 people have been confirmed as HIV carriers there and all of them began receiving free anti-virus medicine last June. But six people died since then. And many have reported strong side effects such as headache, blurred vision, numbness in the limbs, diarrhea, and other uncomfortable side effects. So now in many HIV/AIDS patients' homes, bottles of drugs given free by village doctors are collecting dust because they have not been touched for a long time.

Jon: How many people exactly have actually stopped the free treatment?

CH: Currently, I don't have the exact number. But according to a local health authority, about 40 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in Henan have completely quit the anti-virus treatment, and most just take medicine for less than one month. There are more than 10,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers in the province, according to an official report.

Jon: Have they stopped the treatment due to the side effects of the drug or is there other reasons?

CH: So far, health authorities in China didn't comment on the side effects issue. But we've talked to some medical experts. They say it's normal to feel ill when AIDS patients begin taking anti-virus medicines. It takes about 6 to 12 months to get used to. In fact, as Zhang Wenjie, head of the anti-HIV/AIDS working group from the Ministry of Health suggested, HIV/AIDS patients should never stop taking drugs.

"By Taking anti-virus drugs, first it can improve people's living standards, second, it can enlarge human life expectancy. There is statistics indicating that by taking combined anti-retroviral drugs, HIV/AIDS patients' life expectancy can extend ten more years."

Jon: So what's the follow-up treatment now, the next step in treating AIDS?

CH: I hope I could tell you more, but that's really not my expertise. From what I've collected, authorities suggest providing more counseling and follow-up service to farmers, who do not really have sufficient knowledge about AIDS treatment.

Currently, no efficient mechanism is available to monitor whether the drugs have been taken or not, and follow-up treatment is not available to help patients overcome the painful side effects.

Jon: That's to say to provide free drugs is a vital step, but only a very beginning on the way for the country to properly treat its AIDS patients. Much more work has to be done to make the medical treatment effective, instead of doing it just as a mere formality.

CH: That's right. As Doctor Henk Bekedam, WHO's representative in China says the War in fighting against HIV/AIDS is a people's war.

And my colleagues will bring you more details about the story in later news cast.

Recommend


Your Comment

Your Nick Name or Email: I want to say:
View comments on this article All news comments