HIV treatment facility introduced in Kakinada GGH

Kakinada, Jun 21 (UNI) A sophisticated equipment 'CD-4', to detect severity of the disease among the HIV infected people and whether they require Anti-Retroviral Therapy, was inaugurated at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in this port city of Andhra Pradesh.

GGH superintendent Dr M Suryakumari, who inaugurated the CD-4 equipment, worth Rs 8.50 lakh, at the microbiology department yesterday said with the introduction of the machine, HIV infected would be benefitted as they need not have to wait for weeks to get the blood test reports from Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.

''Though Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centre is functioning at the hospital for the past two years, the blood samples were being sent to Visakhapatnam for clinical tests due to lack of CD-4 machine here. Now it is really a boon for HIV patients of both East and West Godavari districts,'' AIDS Control Society District nodal officer Moka Pavan Kumar said while delivering his presidential address.

Hospital Deputy Superintendent M Mohanrao and Medical College Vice-Principal V Chandrasekhararao also spoke on the occasion.

UNI XC VA ROY KK BD0933