Kenya to Roll Out Safer ARV Regimen

Kenya will switch its HIV treatment regimens to contain a less toxic combination of drugs in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, PlusNews reports. Patients will be initiated on the safer drugs "as soon as next month [August]," according to Ibrahim Mohamed, director of Kenya's National AIDS and Sexually transmitted infections Control Programme. "WHO has recommended that [antiretroviral drug] Stavudine be replaced with less toxic drugs such as Tenofovir (TDF) or Zidovudine, better known as AZT. Some of the side-effects of Stavudine include nerve damage and changes in body shape." The article also discusses patients' reaction, one of "cautious excitement," and funding concerns, which Mohamed said will make the roll out gradual: "we expect to phase it [Stavudine] out completely by the end of four to five years" (7/27).

Back to other news for July 2010