People living with HIV in Teso region are in trouble after a CD4 machine was stolen from Soroti Hospital on Good Friday.
The patients were all clients of Uganda Cares, Soroti Anti-Retroviral Therapy Clinic at Soroti Health Care Centre.
A CD4 count machine is important for HIV/AIDS care and treatment since it allows doctors to know when to start patients on life-saving therapy.
Whereas there are efforts to increase access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV, essential laboratory tests such as the measurement of CD4 T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood remain expensive to carry out.
For a patient with HIV infection, CD4 counts help determine the stage of infection, guide drug choices and indicate the patient's response to treatment and disease progression.
During the test, levels of other types of immune cells and the total number of lymphocytes may also be measured.
After the test is done, a patient is able to get results between seven to14 days. CD4 cells are part of the body's defence against infection. Their numbers decline throughout the course of HIV infection as the immune system becomes overwhelmed.
A normal CD4 level is about 1,000 cells in a microlitre of blood or more than 20% of total lymphocytes. Some laboratories also report the ratio of CD4 to CD8 cells.
A normal ratio is greater than one. In other words, more CD4 than CD8 cells.
The test is repeated every four to six months to track the infection and predict its course.
It was not possible to know the number of patients affected by the loss of the machine or when replacement is expected.
Uganda Care team in Soroti referred this reporter to their headquarters in Kampala.
According to a July 2011 report by local authorities, the HIV prevalence has gone up in Soroti, now standing at 6.2 %. This has risen by more than 2 % since 2005, when prevalence stood at 4.3%.
Among other factors, the rise was attributed to excessive alcohol consumption and reluctance to use condoms.
The national census of 2002 estimated the district population to be approximately
193,300, of whom 51.2 % are female and 48.8% are male.
The district population growth rate was estimated at 2.8% annually. It is estimated that in 2010, the population of Soroti district was approximately 241,200.
As the search for the machines continues, the Police said four suspects remain in custody as investigations continue.
Soroti deputy CID officer James Anyonga named the suspects as Akol, a data clerk, private guards Emmanuel Osura and
John Dongo, together with Patrick Twaha identified as Dongo's brother.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201204131149.html
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