The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) recently requested that the World Health Organization (WHO) urge Becton Dickinson (BD) and Abbott Laboratories (AHF) to recommence manufacturing of essential HIV testing equipment, specifically point-of-care (POC) CD4 machines and reagents. This appeal for assistance is in light of the severe scarcity and subsequent discontinuation of these vital medical devices, which are indispensable for the global administration and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
AHF’s Senior Global Medical Director, Dr. Adele Schwartz Benzaken, emphasized the severe repercussions of the shutdown: “AHF’s country teams in 46 countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, are witnessing the direct effects of Abbott and BD’s decisions. In many countries, POC CD4 devices are scarce, if they are even available, and so are the reagent cartridges required to obtain results within twenty minutes. Additionally, corporations have ceased providing maintenance for preexisting equipment, forsaking healthcare workers and patients.”
Understanding how HIV affects the immune system through the destruction and destruction of CD4 cells requires CD4 testing. While CD4 testing is not a requirement for HIV diagnosis, it is critical during the diagnostic process, particularly in patients who may have developed AIDS. This momentarily overshadowed the significance of CD4 testing in the continuum of HIV care, which the WHO-recommended transition to viral load testing had previously emphasized.
“We urge the WHO to come forward and call on manufacturers of CD4 testing equipment to immediately start producing machines and reagents, and to ensure that existing equipment is supported in the field, as many are failing around the world,” – stated Dr Benzaken in her appeal.