VELLORE: A new building for the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centre has been opened in the premises of the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital (GVMCH). The centre was constructed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh with financial aid from the Children Investment Fund Foundation, based in the UK. Health Minister Dr V S Vijay inaugurated the centre on Saturday.
The centre, which was established in December 2005, has been providing six regiments of drugs to HIV positive patients to stop progression of the disease and improve the quality and longevity of their lives.
The centre has been functioning with three doctors, three counsellors, two nurses and two lab technicians. A total of 8.13 lakh persons were screened for the disease in the district, which has been classified as a high prevalence district for HIV/AIDS, since December 2005. The centre provides six regiments of drugs - combinations of the three drugs Zidovudine, Lamivudine and Nevirapine.