New week, new ward.
On Monday, I followed a physician who worked in the PMTCT unit (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission). We saw nearly 15 children, ranging from 3 months to 9 months. Some have known history of parents who have the disease, others are found or adopted with unknown history. Some have already been tested positive, others are still waiting for the results. Most live in the city, but some had to travel many hours just to get here. For those who live in the city, they have to be brought to the clinic every month for monitoring their symptoms and for distribution of their medications. For those who live far away, the medications are given in 2 or 3 months supplies. These medications are supplied by The Global Fund and given freely to most of the patients. Those who can afford to pay are asked to pay what the could.
On Tuesday, I spent the morning in their clinic where children who have been confirmed by trains to have HIV are also seen monthly for monitoring and for distribution of their ART medications. I met a little girl about 14 years old who have tested positive since birth from transmission from her mom. She had been on the first line treatment since birth until last year when she became resistant to most of them and her CD 4 count drop to 9 while her viral load increased to more than 300,000. She was started on the 2nd line treatment. If she also fails this line, her options become very limited as the 3rd line regimen is not easily available here. Unfortunately, she is but one of the 5000 children in Cambodia currently infected with this disease.
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