HIV/AIDS Medicine

Emergence of HIV/AIDS across the globe in the latter half of 20TH century, it has shaken the roots of mankind. The Associated stigma, mortality and morbidity have devastated the equilibrium of millions of human lives. JSS Medical College and JSS Hospital affiliated to JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research has joined hands with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the global bodies to fight against the battle.

December 2001, Dr. Sumana M N, Assistant professor of Microbiology bagged "Mother Teresa award for community mobilisation on Primary Prevention of HIV/AIDS". Recognising her work, NACO granted Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre for HIV/AIDS (VCTC) to JSS Hospital catering to the rural and urban population of Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, Coorg and Chamaraja Nagar districts, with 1800 beds in the year 2003. Even before this, JSS Hospital has been rendering services to HIV/AIDS patients under the AIDS cell established in Department of Dermatology and Venereal diseases. The doctors at JSS Hospital are relentlessly rendering service to Mankind in this field. In the year 2002, NACO granted Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) under the Department of OBG. This has helped millions of antenatal mothers and new-borns. Under VCTC and PMTCT program, JSS Hospital has been rendering diagnostic and Treatment services to HIV patients and mothers free of cost. Recognising the services of Dr. Sumana M N, NACO granted Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centre to JSS Hospital headed by Department of Medicine in the year 2012. This helped in treating all HIV/AIDS patients free of cost and over 1528 patients are availing the benefits. For all the excellent work at Department of Microbiology on HIV/AIDS, NACO also granted State Reference Laboratory (SRL) to hand hold ICTCs (Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre) that is a combination of VCTCs and PPTCTs, in giving quality service to all the patients attending the ICTCs across Karnataka. Under this SRL, all ICTCs got NABL accreditation in the year 2014. NACO also granted HIV Viral load lab under SRL in the year 2018 for providing them the necessary infrastructure. So far only CD4 count was done to assess the progress and prognosis of HIV/AIDS. Henceforth CD4 count will be replaced by HIV viral load that is a far better indicator of progress and prognosis of HIV/AIDS. This can help assess the treatment failure much earlier to CD4 count. This can improve quality of life in these patients.

With the emergence of COVID-19, all Clinical Microbiology laboratories were under great pressure to start RT-PCR diagnostic tests with NABL accreditation. As extension of scope of SRL that had NABL accreditation already, geared up to the needs of the society and mankind quickly and started RT PCR for COVID-19 diagnosis in the month of June 2020.

National AIDS control organisation -NACO

PPTCT-Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS since 2002

38,000 mothers counselled and tested for HIV/AIDS free of cost
107 Mothers positive, 59 received for ART
59 HIV free babies delivered.

VCTC/ ICTCs Integrated counselling and Testing centre

60,000 patients counselled and tested free of cost
>1500 patients who are HIV positive referred to ART centre for free treatment.
Over 20 free diagnostic camps conducted in rural areas.
Community mobilisation (over 100,00,000 people) on HIV/AIDS prevention carried out at rural and urban areas in the form of cartoons, posters, Radio jingles, hoardings, street plays, fancy dress, games, Tableaux, songs, magic shows, puppet shows etc .
HIV/AIDS awareness for school and College students (>2000 students) conducted.
Carrying out diagnosis of opportunistic infections in HIV/AIDS patients. Published scientific papers on the same.
Cryptococcal antigen detection test in CSF samples introduced.
Conducted 5 funded projects

Lymphocyte count as a cheaper, surrogate prognostic marker for CD4 count in HIV/AIDS patients funded by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RJUHS)-2010
Use of blood culture to diagnose TB in HIV patients- ICMR funded project
Integrated biological and behavioural survey (IBBS) of sex workers- NACO& Melinda Bill Gates funded project

Biological and behavioural survey of general population- two times - NACO & Melinda Bill Gates funded project.
- High school students and college students given Sex education aiding the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS
- Started a clinic at Karnataka Health promotion trust (KHPT) for Sex workers in Mysuru, catering to thousands of commercial sex workers (CSWs)
- Hundreds of CSWs and their sex partners treated free of cost for sexually transmitted diseases to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS using syndromic approach- A Melinda Bill Gates funded project.
- Published 12 research papers related to HIV/AIDA

ART (Anti-retroviral treatment) centre

Over 1500 HIV/AIDS patients counselled on ART for drug compliance free of cost
1528 patients treated with ART free of cost

State reference Laboratory- (SRL)

Regular training of Medical officers, technicians and Counsellors on the recent advances in HIV/AIDS
Sending EQUAS samples to ICTCs to assess and improve the quality of HIV testing
Cross checking any ambiguous results obtained in ICTCs
Starting Viral load testing laboratory
COVID-19 testing laboratory started with NABL accreditation- nearly 30,000 patients tested so far. Also started testing rapid antigen detection, Anti- SARS CoV2 antibodies detection.
Conducted Covi-shield vaccine trial (Phase II and Phase III).
Conducted BCG vaccine trial in geriatric population to prevent spread of COVID-19
Conducting Sputnik vaccine trial for prevention of COVID-19.
Conducting Novovax trial for prevention of COVID-19.
Starting COVID-19 vaccination promotion campaign.