Doctor gives consultation to HIV/AIDS patient (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – An HIV/AIDS and (TB) integrated treatment
model has continued to be piloted at district and communal clinic centres in 18
provinces with high and medium rate of HIV this year, according to the Vietnam
Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) under the Ministry of Health.
VAAC Deputy Director General Bui Duc Duong said that TB is the most common
opportunistic infection associated with and a leading cause of death among
people with HIV. Persons infected with HIV are 19 times more likely to develop
TB than those without HIV.
HIV-infected people also face the emerging threat of drug-resistant TB. In
2015, some 390,000 people died of HIV-associated TB in the world, accounting
for 25 percent of global HIV deaths. There are an estimated 5,500
HIV-associated TB cases in Vietnam, Duong added.
HIV/ and TB services are being provided separately at numerous district
clinic centres, inconveniencing patients.
The integrated model has been introduced at district and communal clinics to
enhance management and provide comprehensive service for HIV- associated TB
patients, he said.
The model was piloted in Nho Quan district in Ninh Binh province and Hung Ha
district in Thai Binh province during 2013-2015. It was enlarged to other 12
provinces in 2015-2016.
According to the Vietnam National Hospital of Tuberculosis and Respiratory
Diseases, after two years of the model, the rate of detection of TB for HIV
patients increased while rate of HIV-associated TB patients receiving treatment
also rose.
In addition, people with TB received consultations and HIV tests at the
integration clinics and those with HIV were treated at the same centre.
The integration model also helps reduce costs at local clinics and enhances
quality of diagnosis and treatment.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
