Shortage forcing Lae clinic to ration HIV/AIDS drugs

The National National

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
THE supply of antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs to patients at the Anua Moriri Day Care Centre at Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae is rationed to cater for the shortage of the triple-combination drugs.
HIV/AIDS coordinator Sr Kwim Nicholas said the centre used to issue three boxes a patient but had reduced it to one box because triple-combination expired last month.
“The triple combination includes 600mg of efavirenz and 300mg each of lamivudine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in one tablet, which patients living with
HIV/AIDS must take daily, and they cannot go on a day without it,” she said.
“A box contains 30 tablets.
“This triple-combination tablet expired in April, and we cannot give those to our patients.
“We are currently giving to patients one box of the dual combination, which is a tablet containing 300mg each of lamivudine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.
“We also give another tablet which is the 600mg efavirenz, so patients have to take two tablets now.”
Nicholas said the centre currently had more than 700 patients who were on the triple-combination, and with its expiration, the only option was to ration it so all patients could have their daily dose.
“We usually give three boxes of the triple-combination to patients, so after three months, they come back to us and get another supply.
“However, with the current situation, we give one box each of the dual combination and the efavirenz to patients.
“It still counts as the daily dose that they must drink in a month, but our supply of those drugs is starting to decrease.
“We just hope that we get a new supply of the triple-combination by the end of this month.
“We also have 27 other satellite ART sites around Morobe province which we supply the drugs to, and they have their own patients too.
“Recently we gave them 10 packs of the dual combination and the other tablet.”
Nicholas said the required treatment was the triple-combination because positive patients needed to commence dosage while waiting for baseline blood result, and it was also better for patients on tuberculosis treatment.