Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centre
Incharge : Dr. Upasna Agarwal
The Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centre (ART Centre) at LRS Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi was established in December 2005 under the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The centre is being run at Room No 101 & 102 of the new OPD block at the institute. It provides comprehensive care to patients of HIV/ AIDS, free of any charge. Facility for CD 4 testing is available at the institute via nodal lab at AIIMS. Lifelong ARV medications are being provided to the patients free of any charge.
The goal of the ART centre is to set an example in quality of care provided to the patients of HIV/AIDS.
The centre aims to help the patient overcome the fear and stigma, which he/she has to face because of the dreaded disease and to help empower the patient live his life with respect and dignity, he deserves.
Dr Upasna Agarwal is Specialist (Medicine) at LRS Institute of TB & Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi. She has done her MBBS from AMU, Aligarh. Her postgraduate residency is in Internal Medicine (MD) from AMU, Aligarh.Post Residency she has done a 3 year Senior Residency at the department of medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. She is also the in-charge of the ART Centre at LRS Institute of TB & Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi. Her area of interest for research is HIV-TB co-infection.
- Counseling
- Adherence counseling
- Family counseling
High quality counseling is given by trained counselor.
- Care of HIV patients not on ART
- Diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections (O.I).
- Expert management of HIV-TB cases by trained physicians in this field.
- Free life long supply of ARV drugs.
- CD4 testing
- In patient admission facility.
- ICU care of serious patients.
- Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
- Linkages with NGO
STAFF RESOURCES
Under the supervision of the in-charge, the ART centre is being run by a dedicated team:
- Dr Amitabh Kumar, MBBS (Hons), DNB (Respiratory Diseases),Senior Medical Officer
- Ms Komal Sharma, DNM Nurse
- Ms. Jyoti Sharma, M.A (Applied Psychology),Counselor
- Mr. Arjun Kumar, B.Com.,Record Keeper
- Mr. Satpal, DMLT Laboratory Technician
- Mr. Vinit Kumar D. Pharm Pharmacist
What is HIV?
HIV is the virus that causes HIV disease and AIDS.
H - Human: because this virus can only infect human beings.
I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create deficiencies, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system.
V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.What is AIDS?
A - Acquired: because it's a condition one must acquire or get infected with.
I - Immune: because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses
D - Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient (makes it not work properly)
S - Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections
What is the difference between HIV, HIV disease and AIDS?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV disease is the disease caused by the presence of the virus in the body. AIDS is the severe form of HIV disease. In AIDS, body's defenses against some illnesses are broken down. Hence they can get many different kinds of diseases that a healthy person's body would normally fight off quite easily.
Is there a cure for HIV/AIDS?
Although there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life and life expectancy of persons with HIV/AIDS, there is, as of yet, no cure.
How is HIV transmitted?
HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:
- Blood (including menstrual blood)
- Semen
- Vaginal secretions
- Breast milk
Blood contains the highest concentration of the virus, followed by semen, followed by vaginal fluids, and then by breast milk.
Activities That Allow HIV Transmission?
- Unprotected sexual contact
- Direct blood contact, particularly through sharing injection drug needles.
- Infections due to blood transfusions
- Mother to child -before or during birth
- Through breast feeding
- Sexual intercourse (vaginal and anal): In the genitals and the rectum, HIV may infect the mucous membranes directly or enter through cuts and sores caused during intercourse.
- Sharing injection needles.
- HIV cannot simply be caught by kissing, hugging or shaking hands with an infected person, and it can't be transmitted by sneezes, or touching objects an infected person has used.
How many people in India are living with HIV/AIDS?
According to recent WHO & NACO estimates (Technical Report on HIV Estimation, 2006), there are 2.47 M people infected with HIV virus in India.
How long does it take for HIV to cause AIDS?
The length of time between being infected with HIV and being diagnosed with AIDS depends on different things like development of various opportunistic infections. However, disease can be silent for 7-8 years and on an average a patient of HIV disease would develop AIDS in 10-12 years. There are ARV drugs that can be used to help people with HIV, and most doctors believe that most people can be treated for a very long time. Many people do not know exactly when they were infected with HIV, and the length of time between this happening and them being diagnosed with AIDS can be very different.
What do the test results mean?
A positive result means:
You are HIV-positive (carrying the virus that causes AIDS).
You can infect others and should try to implement precautions to prevent doing so.
A negative result means:
No antibodies were found in your blood at this time.
A negative result does NOT mean:
You are not infected with HIV (if you are still in the window period).
You are immune to AIDS.
You have a resistance to infection.
You will never get AIDS.
If I test Positive, does that mean that I will die?
Testing positive for HIV means that you now carry the virus that causes AIDS. It does not mean that you have AIDS, nor does it mean that you will die. Although there is no cure for AIDS, many opportunistic infections that make people sick can be controlled, prevented or eliminated. The progression of the disease can be controlled by anti-retroviral drugs (ARV). This has substantially increased the longevity and quality of life for people living with AIDS.
Is there anything I can do to stay healthy?
The short answer is yes. There are things that you can do to stay healthy.
Emotional support may be very important for HIV-positive people because it breaks the isolation and provides a safe way of sharing both feelings and practical information
What are the chances of developing TB?
Tuberculosis is the most common OI seen in HIV/AIDS. Estimated annual risk of disease is 10%. Untreated TB can accelerate the course of HIV.
How can I get tested for HIV?
Walk in any day between 9 am to 1 p.m at ICTC, Room No 116 OPD Building, LRS Institute of TB & Respiratory Diseases.
Where do I go if I test positive for HIV?
You just need to walk in on any working day, from Monday through Saturday during OPD hours (9 am-1pm) to the ART centre at the LRS Institute of TB & Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi.
What kind of care will I receive?
Our ART centre will register you and evaluate you for opportunistic infections and assess your immune functions. If Anti-retroviral medicines (ARV) are required at this stage then it will be provided to you free of charge. If medicines are not required at this point of time you will still remain under our care and evaluated from time to time.
Various research projects are being carried out at the ART centre in the Institute. Special area of interest is HIV-TB.