HIV treatment dropouts sadden AIDS panel

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) has lamented that thousands of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have stopped receiving treatment.

The PNAC cited several cases wherein a patient suddenly discontinued his or her antiretroviral therapy (ART), the daily or periodic use of a combination of medications to treat HIV.

The ART prevents the virus from multiplying, protecting the patient’s immune system and reducing the risk of transmission.

“There are many who withdrew from the treatment due to various reasons including the lack of transportation money in going to treatment centers and losing their treatment partners, while others just became disinterested,” PNAC executive director Joselito Feliciano said.

He said it takes a lot of patience and courage to go through the daily treatment.

Data from the HIV and AIDS Surveillance of the Philippines showed that as of March, there have been 30,666 patients who quit treatment.

The figure accounts for 21 percent of the total 146,164 HIV patients who enrolled in ART since 2002, and remained alive as of March this year.