Need for new HIV drugs grows as patients develop resistance
Published on
By Roselyne Obala As access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment expands, more HIV positive people are developing resistance to drug regimens and need second-line medicines. Take the case of Magdalene Wekesa’s and her one-year-old son. Even though she was HIV positive, Magdalene skipped prenatal clinics. Now she is on second line ARV drugs treatment together with her son after the first line failed forcing her to be bedridden for months. "My husband recently returned from Eldoret where he works and I informed him about our status. He took a test and it was negative but my six-year-old son is positive," she says. Magdalene does casual farm jobs for Sh75 a day, which she spends on food. For the drugs to be effective one needs a balanced diet but her family often takes them on empty stomachs. "Sometimes I feel dizzy and even collapses," she says. Hers is just one of the families that have to grapple with the scourge in this time of famine and poverty in a society where HIV stigma is rife. A committee When the writer visited Vihiga District Hospital, she found six patients including two minors on the second line drugs and they were responding well to the new treatment. "A committee that includes a pharmacist decides who should get second line treatment based on several factors including viral load," says Ms Milka Kinyanjui a registered clinical officer. She says the change in regimens is considered when the initial one fails which could happen due to failed immunity or resistance to drugs. She says Government has enough drugs, which it supplies to hospitals every two weeks. According to Government guidelines, the drugs should not be administered in health centres and dispensaries at district level. "These drugs are issued free of charge," says Kinyanjui. The second line treatment costs about Sh8,000 a month per patient. Kinyanyui says none of the patients who have received the second line treatment at the hospital for the past two years have developed any complications. Jackline narrates how she was diagnosed with the virus in 2001 and began taking ARVs in 2005. "I had many complications, underwent frequent hospital admissions and blood transfusion," she says. At some point she lost hope and was bedridden. But when we visited her she was piling firewood at her home. "I underwent various tests to determine what was wrong and went without treatment for a month," Jackine says. Soon after she was put on the second line regimen, her recovery was amazing. "This period marked a new chapter in my life, I become strong and my weak legs," says the 40-year-old amid laughter. Today she is a member of a support grope that helps members cope with the disease. The recruitment is open to anyone interested in joining while about 2000 are on ceptrine alone.