DAMMAM, 25 June 2003 — Work is in progress to develop specialist clinics for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, according to an official at the Ministry of Health here.
The clinics will then be transformed into comprehensive centers where preventive, curative and technical facilities will be available through AIDS specialists.
Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Abdulkarim, deputy director general at the Eastern Province Directorate of Health Affairs, said there were 1,238 confirmed AIDS cases in the country.
Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to develop treatment methods to deal with AIDS, he said. “It set up specialist centers in 1984 to supervise the AIDS cases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and it formed a team of specialists,” Al-Abdulkarim added.
There are three centers for the disease. The regional laboratory in the Eastern Province is the point of reference for AIDS confirmation tests, and it covers the Eastern Province as well as Hafr Al-Baten, Al-Ahsa and the Northern Province. The initial test is done in many national and governmental hospitals, and if the result is positive, then blood samples are sent to the regional laboratory for confirmation, he said.
Dr. Al-Abdulkarim said that patients with positive results are observed and when the report is confirmed then they are moved to specialized AIDS clinics. Expatriates, meanwhile, are tested as soon as they arrive in the country, he added.
For nationals of countries where AIDS is spreading alarmingly, tests are conducted every three months. According to Saudi regulations, the country has the right to deport any foreigner carrying AIDS.
According to Dr. Al-Abdulkarim, the cost of treating each patient ranges from SR200,000 to SR400,000 depending on how far the illness has advanced.
