Debbie A. Lubis
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
AIDS patients and those infected by the human immuno-deficiency
\nvirus (HIV) will no longer be preoccupied by anxiety and can
\ngo about their daily lives without any pain from the fatal
\ndisease thanks to affordable modified drugs now available in
\npharmacies and clinics in the country.<\/p>\n
Taking the pills, tablets or syrup, mostly imported from
\nIndia, Europe and the United States, the patients will no longer
\nfeel pain and their bodies will not so easily be infected by
\nother diseases related to the virus.<\/p>\n
\"Despite neither healing nor prolonging life, the new drug
\nproducts can help HIV\/AIDS patients go about their daily
\nactivities calmly and without any pain,\" Zubairi Djoerban, an
\ninternist at the special study group on HIV\/AIDS at the medical
\nschool of the University of Indonesia said in a seminar on
\nHIV\/AIDS here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He said that the medicine, Antiretroviral (ART), was a
\ncombination of three kinds of drug that fought the replication of
\nthe HIV virus in the body and prevented the breakdown of the
\nbody's immune system.<\/p>\n
\"Patients with HIV\/AIDS are not easily exposed to infection
\nanymore and they can manage themselves without any pain because
\nthe medicine maintains their immunity and eases their pain,\" he
\nsaid in a seminar on AIDS\/HIV drugs here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He said that according to its characteristics, the virus made
\npatients susceptible to diseases like tuberculosis, bacterial
\ninfections, pneumonia or other diseases that could lead to death.
\n\"The medicine eliminates the amount of virus in the body and
\nreturns its immunity almost to normal so it is able to fight any
\nvirus or bacteria,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the price of the medicine, he said a patient would
\nneed Rp 1,050,000 to purchase a month's supply of the India-
\nproduced generic drugs, and the Indian products were cheaper than
\nthose imported from Europe.<\/p>\n
The number of people infected by the disease has reached
\n80,000 to 120,000, most of whom are in Jakarta, East Java, Bali,
\nRiau and Papua. So far, The disease has claimed 2,880 lives.<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Rachmadi, another speaker in the seminar, said that
\nan ideal combination of antiretroviral drugs is zidovudine (AZT),
\nlamivudine (3TC) and nelfivanir. However, he offered three
\nalternative antiretroviral drug cocktails: AZT with 3TC and
\nnevirapin, AZT with 3TC only, or Videx with Zerit.<\/p>\n
He said that the side effects of the medicine on certain
\npatients were quite disturbing. \"AZT my cause anemia while Videx
\ncan often cause a nerve disorder (loss of sensation),\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the side-effects mostly affected patients in the
\nadvanced stages of HIV\/AIDS or those who also suffered from
\nHepatitis C, tuberculosis (TBC), or were infected by bacteria.<\/p>\n
He said that in this case, doctors should decide which one of
\nthe diseases should be treated as a priority.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/debbie-a-lubis-1447899208",
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