Imphal, February 07: Although National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) had issued an order for opening up of an Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centre in Chandel District Hospital way back in June 2007, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in the district are being exposed to lot of inconveniences in getting ART treatment as the proposed centre is yet to materialise.

In the absence of an ART Centre in the district, patients have to come down to RIMS or JN Hospital at Imphal for getting the required Anti-Retroviral drugs.

However, patients living in far flung areas of the district have to spend over four days at the minimum to come and get the treatment due to poor transport and communication facilities.

Over and above this difficulty, the rate of drug resistance among the patients who are already under ART treatment has been on the rise as they could not undergo regular health check and maintain drug adherence.

According to the Epidemiological Report furnished by MACS, in Chandel district out of the blood samples of 8286 people screened till October 2007, 1067 of them have been confirmed HIV positive.

At present, 114 patients including 45 men, 48 women, 10 boys and one girl are getting ART treatment from the ART Centre at JN Hospital.

Talking to The Sangai Express in connection with delayed in opening up of an ART Centre in the district, secretary of Chandel Network of Positive People KT Shanghring said it has caused lot of difficulties to those patients who are already under ART treatment.

Due to poor communication and transport facilities as well as financial constraints, many of the HIV patients in the district could not go to Imphal to get the ART drugs on regular basis, thus affecting in their proper treatment.

Even if they are on ART treatment, they could not undertake health check-up which is compulsory after every 6 months and cases of drug resistance among them has been on the rise, Shanghring expressed concerned.

The problem is all the more acute for those patients living in far flung villages of the district like Lamphoucharu, Phiran Khullen, Phunchung, Anal Khullen, Tengnoupal, Sajik Tampak, etc, she said.

She explained that in order to get the ART drug, patients from far flung villages have to first of all come till Chandel district headquarters where they have to hold the night and then catch the next morning bus to reach Imphal.

While returning from Imphal, they have to spend one night at Chandel again before proceeding home.

In the light of the difficulties being faced by the patients, she called upon the Government and the authorities of MACS to take up necessary measures for setting up an ART Centre at Chandel District Hospital at the earliest possible.

When contacted in this regard, ART in-charge of MACS Dr Premchand disclosed that the main reason for not opening up of an ART centre at Chandel is the non-receipt of the approval of NACO for setting up the centre.

Acting on the order issued by NACO in June 2007, MACS had imparted necessary training to the nodal officer and other counsellors who would be required for operation of the proposed ART centre and their names submitted to NACO.

However, the final approval of the NACO based on its financial guideline for setting up the centre is yet to be received.

After the receiving the approval of NACO, a four-day training has to be conducted for the ART team comprising two physicians, one gynaecologist, two paediatrics, one microbiologist and one dermatologist who would be actually running the centre when it is materialised, the MACS officer informed.

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