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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF;
Doctors Without Borders) has strongly urged the Indian government to address
ongoing shortages of pediatric TB drugs and medicines used to treat
drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). Under current policy, the Indian central government
purchases TB drug supplies and distributes them to the states, which are
responsible for providing treatment to TB-infected patients. However, TB drugs
routinely are out of stock, which is one reason India has such high incidence
of DR-TB, according to Leena Menghaney, India manager of MSF’s Access Campaign.
Dr. Homa Mansoor, TB medical
referent for MSF India, explained that if pediatric TB medicines were
unavailable for children who had travelled long distances to obtain treatment,
doctors had to resort to “breaking adult pills,” which could result in an
incorrect dose. Other desperate patients have purchased lower-dose TB
medications from retail pharmacies, since proper dosages were not available to
them through government sources. Drug resistance can develop in under-dosed
patients.
The World Health Organization
released interim guidelines for use of bedaquiline, which the US Food and Drug
Administration approved for TB treatment in 2012. MSF recommended strict
regulation and control of new drugs and studies to determine more effective
drug combinations that might be taken for shorter duration with less toxicity. The
Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for
HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to
prevent the spread of the HIV virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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