Sunday Times, South Africa - Sunday, January 10, 1999
Ramola Talwar Badam: Mumbai
The wife, who refused to be named for fear of being ostracised by her neighbours because she carries the deadly HIV virus, said she never hesitated to give up her own battle.
She hopes combination drug therapy will buy her husband's survival well into the new year.
"Look, only one of us can go in for the treatment. Naturally it's him," she said. "Whatever money is left I have to save for my child."
Subhash Hira, director of Bombay's Aids Research and Control Centre, said the woman's story was typical. Increasingly, women with HIV were forgoing treatment in favour of their husbands.
"It is the woman who is stepping back. She thinks of herself as dispensable. They are pushing their husbands and even their children for the combination therapy, but say, 'I'll decide later.' "
Hira estimates that less than 1 percent of those living with HIV in India can afford what has become known as the AIDS cocktail. Indigenous production of drugs and perhaps even development of a vaccine may be the only way for developing countries to combat AIDS. But costs remain high in India even though an Indian company has begun to produce some of the treatment drugs.
While there is no way to eliminate the AIDS virus from the body, three to four drug cocktails have successfully lowered HIV to undetectable levels in many patients. Typically, HIV patients on the cocktail treatment take 20 pills a day.
Most middle-class Indian households, with the husband as breadwinner, earn an average monthly income of about R680 . Patients shelled out six times that amount each month in 1996 for the cocktail therapy, needed to boost their immune systems. India has an estimated 4 million HIV-positive people.
990110
ST990102
Copyright © 1999 - The Sunday Times. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Sunday Times Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1999. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1999. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .