An independent specialised paediatric center has been established here at Services Hospital for the treatment of HIV positive children under national AIDS Control Programme. It is the first treatment center for the HIV positive children in the country, a spokesman of health department said here on Thursday.
Dr Salman Shahid, National AIDS Control Programme, Punjab co-ordinator told in a briefing given to the Secretary Health Punjab that this is the first treatment center in Pakistan for AIDS affected children. He further said that qualified staff and latest diagnostic equipments have been installed in this center. It was further informed that Punjab has become the first province in Pakistan to implement the programme aimed at prevention of AIDS through transmission from parent to child and three districts including Gujrat, DG. Khan and Faisalabad have been declared as model districts. Further, Case Managers have also been appointed at Gujrat and DG. Khan for the counselling/treatment of outreach patients.
The meeting was also informed that a new treatment center should be functional at DHQ Hospital Gujrat before the end of April 2011. The meeting was informed that there were 371 new AIDS patients had been registered, whereas, 1125 Viral Load Test and 2488 Rapid Test had been performed, while screening of 1530 suspected patients had also been carried out in one year. Dr Salman informed that treatments as well as counselling facilities are being provided to all registered HIV patients and concrete steps has been taken for the welfare of these patients under National AIDS Control Programme.
Health professionals told Business Recorder that Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS. They said: "HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding."
According to them, efforts world-wide on access to treatment for children with HIV have reached a new milestone, with 355, 000 children receiving life-saving HIV treatment and many more lives could be saved if more infants started on medication earlier according to new recommendations from WHO.
They said: "It is encouraging that more children are getting access to HIV treatment, but we have to do more to promote healthy lives for infants and children. Until now, very few children under the age of one year have been started on HIV treatment, partly because the testing needed for this group has not been available in many settings. Expanding that availability of diagnostic testing is still often a critical need and WHO is calling for greater access to infant diagnosis starting at four to six weeks after birth. Without diagnosis followed by prompt initiation of treatment, an estimated one-third of HIV-infected infants will die before their first birthday, and about half will die before reaching two years of age."
They further said that with early diagnosis and prompt treatment, children have far better chances of surviving. As per estimates, they said, approximately 400, 000 infants acquire HIV infection each year, as a result of mother-to-child transmission. To reduce this risk, they said WHO recommends that all women with HIV should receive antiretroviral drugs to protect against HIV transmission during pregnancy, delivery or breast-feeding. Ending transmission of HIV from mothers to children is entirely achievable and must be a priority of the governments as well as health professionals, they asserted.
According to them, there is good evidence that earlier and more effective treatment of HIV can prevent nearly all mother-to-child transmissions. Virtual elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV by 2015 is possible. Relatively small investments can go a long way in saving mothers and babies.
They said: "HIV/AIDS is still a serious public health problem. The most vulnerable group are children with HIV/AIDS, whose numbers have increased by 46 percent between 2001 and 2009. The threat of HIV/AIDS to children highlights the need to strengthen health systems at the primary health care level and to integrate HIV-specific interventions within broader maternal and child health services."
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