ONGOLE: Patients who test positive for HIV are not able to avail themselves of facilities for testing tuberculosis in Ongole owing to problem of logistics.

As HIV-positive patients are prone to an attack of tuberculosis, the Government gave a direction that all HIV patients be tested for tuberculosis too and provided treatment, if necessary.

Though nine persons tested HIV-positive at the Voluntary Testing and Counselling Centre (VTCT) at Ongole, only four of them went to the tuberculosis centre for further test. Reason? The VTCT and the TB centre are located half a kilometre away from each other.

Patients testing HIV-positive are given counselling at the VTCT and advised to go to the TB centre and find out whether they are also suffering from tuberculosis and take treatment, if necessary. But on hearing of HIV attack, patients feel so frustrated that they leave for their home without undergoing other tests as advised. Doctors say that unless tuberculosis is cured, the HIV problem would only get aggravated.

To surmount this difficulty, district Collector B. Udaya Lakshmi suggested that both VTCT and the TB centre be located at the same place and patients be given proper counselling to get all tests done and take proper treatment.

Review held

Reviewing the problems in tackling HIV and TB in the district, Mrs. Udaya Lakshmi expressed anger that health personnel did not have statistics on the status of HIV/TB in the district. She asked them to come prepared for next meeting with statistics on the number of HIV-positive persons and those visiting VTCT centres and how many were infected by tuberculosis and treatment given etc.

Doctors told her that 500 persons were having tuberculosis in a population of one lakh in the district while the HIV positive rate was 4-5 per cent. Mrs. Udaya Lakshmi said that all HIV patients should be tested for tuberculosis and given treatment, if necessary.

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