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HIV carriers no longer receive drugs for the treatment of the disease due to the collapse of the country's economy.
Crisis in Venezuela: HIV carriers use tree leaves
Hyperinflation and the chronic shortage of Venezuela offer little hope for antiretrovirals for seropositive patients, and many resort to the leaves of a tropical tree called guasimo.
Patients under a dose use about 50 leaves of the tree, much sought after by their wood, and beat them with water in the blender.
Doctors and patients question the effectiveness of the substance, used for years in Venezuela and Brazil in addition to pharmaceutical treatment.
But HIV-infected patients are afraid to avoid
"I have nothing to lose," an HIV-positive man said while preparing and drinking the potion, asking not to be identified because his colleagues are not aware. diagnostic.
He received free antiretrovirals from the state for years, but the offer is blurred with the collapse of the country's socialist economic system.
"My mind repeats:" I'm going to die, I'm in this situation because the government does not provide drugs. "
Dr. Carlos Perez began recommending treatment early in 2018, when the shortage of antiretrovirals became critical. He advises patients to drink the guasimo preparation twice a day for a month.
"It's a complementary treatment," said Perez, a member of the organization Solidarity Action, which helps care for people living with HIV [19659006] "One component of these leaves is tannin , a biochemical component that apparently has antiviral properties. "
The Ministry of Information did not respond to a request for comment on the drug shortage.
Antiretrovirals can only be bought abroad and one month of treatment costs at least $ 85, or more than $ 300, almost a year's minimum wage. Annual inflation reached 1.3 million in November.
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018
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