Source: thehindu.com
A Paediatric Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centre has been started under a public-private partnership model at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Parel, in association with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to tackle HIV in children.
Dr. Ira Shah, a paediatric infectious diseases specialist who has been looking after HIV-infected children since 2001, will head the centre that was inaugurated by Dr. Srikala Acharya of Mumbai District AIDS Control Society recently.
“With the establishment of the centre, children with HIV can get holistic paediatric treatment under one roof with the help of a team of experts. Earlier, around 1.5% infants in Mumbai would get HIV from their mothers. But now the percentage is lower than that.”
Wadia Hospital sees several newly diagnosed HIV paediatric patients every month. In addition, it sees follow-up patients in the oldest paediatric HIV outpatient department in the city at Wadia Children’s Hospital.
“At the moment, the number of kids with HIV has decreased due to the preventive programme. But there are still many who are undiagnosed. Hence, paediatric patients with HIV and associated infections will get free HIV medicines as well as complete paediatric services,” Dr. Shah said.
Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO, Wadia Hospitals, said the paediatric HIV OPD was the first such service in the city, and began in 1996. “Till date, the clinic has treated more than 900 HIV-infected children and has prevented HIV in over 1,400 babies born to HIV-infected mothers. With the help of NACO and MDACS, free ART will be available to all HIV-infected children as part of the Paediatric ART centre at B.J. Wadia Hospital for Children,” she said.
Dr. Bodhanwala said even before the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV programme was available in the country, Wadia Hospital for Children was offering it and had brought down the transmission rate from 40% to less than 2% in these patients. “Constant research in the field of HIV from this institute has helped in various guidelines and updates in the field of HIV,” she said.