Bangalore hospital denies ART for HIV+ student, faces protest today

A 30-year-old student from Nagaland, who also works as a music teacher, has been allegedly denied treatment at St John’s Hospital, after he tested positive for HIV in February.

His brother, with whom he stays, is concerned that with the denial of antiretroviral therapy (ART), his condition might deteriorate. Already, the patient is paralysed on the right side.

HIV Sonkhithara Sanganthane, an organisation working for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), which has taken up the Naga student’s case, is planning to stage a protest in front of the hospital seeking the end of the discrimination against the youth, on Thursday.

“It’s a case of discrimination. The patient’s condition is deteriorating, but the hospital told us that ART treatment will not begin before April 9. In between, anything can happen. We will protest in an attempt to pressure the hospital to start treatment immediately,” said Parveen Ahmed, member, HIV Sonkhithara Sanganthane. Standard ART consists of the use of at least three antiretroviral drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus and prevent progression of the disease.

Officials at the hospital, however, cite procedural requirements for delaying treatment. “Guidelines of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) say that treatment cannot begin without prior counselling. ART treatment has to continue for life. We need the patient to understand that. What if, tomorrow, he wants to shift to Nagaland?” asked Ravi Kumar, medical officer at St John’s Hospital, explaining that treatment can begin only after the counselling is complete.

The patient, meanwhile, has alleged that the hospital has been harassing him to furnish his home address before beginning the counselling. His brother, with whom he stays, said, “We have furnished the home address, but hospital authorities are not convinced. We are helpless. The need of the hour is to give my brother ART treatment, his condition is critical now.”

The diagnosis of HIV+ was made while the 30-year-old was under treatment at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), in February. Doctors say that the patient is a drug user, who contracted the infection from a used needle. Doctors at Nimhans advised him to go for ART treatment at St John’s Hospital, which was the closest hospital to his residence. “Our fight will only be part of the struggle to end discrimination against those who live with HIV/AIDS,” said Parveen.

It may be noted that NACO has marked Karnataka as a state with high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) estimates that the state has 2,50,000 HIV infected people, with 33,000 suffering from AIDS. An estimated 2.5 million people in India, aged between 15 and 49, are feared to be living with HIV/AIDS, the third largest in the world.