CHENNAI: People living with HIV (PLHIV) from Tamil Nadu have raised complaints about the extremely bitter taste of a new batch of HIV drugs, procured and distributed by the National AIDS Control Organisation.
PLHIV said they have severe concerns over the quality of fixed-dose combination tenofovir/ lamivudine/ dolutegravir (TLD) supplied to the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
This combination is crucial for antiretroviral therapy (ART) to suppress viral load, thereby saving lives and preventing HIV transmission.
Positive Women Network, a community organisation working for women with HIV, wrote a letter on the same to the Union Health Ministry, which was signed by around 200 people from the state.
The organisation stated in the letter that the community urged the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to conduct thorough quality control tests on the tablets, revise tender requirements to mandate CDSCO registration for suppliers of antiretrovirals (ARVs) under the NACP tenders, in addition to state licensing agencies.
“We urgently request CDSCO’s intervention to address potential issues with substandard drugs being supplied to NACP. This issue not only affects public health but also jeopardises the lives of millions of PLHIV who rely on these ARVs provided free of cost at the ART centres nationwide,” the letter read.
On the bitter taste of drugs, a 22-year-old man told TNIE, “This has been the issue for the past one-and-a-half months. Earlier, the drugs were tasteless.”
A 13-year-old schoolgirl said she could not tolerate the bitterness in the beginning, but she was forced to take the pill and was now beginning to ‘adjust’ to it.
A 42-year-old woman, who has been taking ART drugs for over 10 years, said she could not bear the newly found bitterness in the drugs.
“It tastes like biting into a raw bitter gourd. Children are on the verge of crying when it is time to take the tablets, but they have no choice,” she said.
Positive Women Network president (Chennai) Kousalya Periasamy said there have been complaints from the PLHIV community regarding the quality of the tablets over the last few months.
“Earlier, the patients faced the issue of drug disintegration. Now, it has a strong bitter taste. They never faced such issues with previous supplies,” she added.