Up to Rs 650 crore are being spent on privatising HIV testing services with the aid of Abbott and Metropolis. “We announce free viral load testing for every PLHIV from now on,” said Union Health Minister JP Nadda. Only when a patient stopped reacting to first line Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) drugs and developed drug-resistance were they referred for testing viral load. Meanwhile, MoHFW has signed a contract with Metropolis labs for conducting viral load tests too. According to UNAIDS India figures, it was estimated that 68,000 persons died of HIV/AIDS in the country for the lack of viral load testing.

Source: dna February 26, 2018 23:49 UTC