African Strains Not More Infectious Than Others, Study Finds
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African HIV strains are no more infectious than those found in other
parts of the world, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins School
of Public Health <http://www.jhsph.edu/> researcher Ronald Gray that
was published Saturday in The Lancet. After calculating the probabil-
ity of HIV transmission per sexual act among monogamous couples in
Uganda, Gray's team concluded the A, C and D subtypes prevalent in
sub-Saharan Africa are no more virulent than the B and E subtypes
found in Europe, Thailand and the United States. The existence of
different subtypes and rates of spread had fuelled speculation that
infectiousness could vary by subtype. "We are not dealing with a nas-
tier virus, we are dealing with the social, cultural and political
context" in Africa, Gray said. Political and social instability, un-
controlled sexual activity, widespread rape, cultural practices, mi-
gration of workers and the sex industry all contribute to the unusu-
ally rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the researchers found. The
study also attributed the slower spread of HIV/AIDS in West Africa to
a greater prevalence of recombinant viruses, and found that high lev-
els of HIV circulating in the bloodstream and genital ulcerations in-
crease infectiousness. Anti-retroviral drugs can reduce infectious-
ness, the researchers found (Patricia Reaney, News24, 13 Apr).
http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Health/Aids_Focus/0,1113,2-14-659_1010572,00.html
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Former S. African President Blasts Drug Makers, Gov't
Former South African President and Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Man-
dela yesterday accused HIV/AIDS drugs manufacturers of "exploiting
the situation" in South Africa, and President Thabo Mbeki's govern-
ment of "not doing sufficient work" to find an acceptable way of dis-
tributing HIV/AIDS medicines. A group of 39 pharmaceutical companies
has taken the government to court over a law that allows South Africa
to circumvent patents when importing or manufacturing cheaper
HIV/AIDS drugs. The trial resumes Wednesday (Brendan Boyle, News24 15
Apr). It was postponed last month to allow testimony by the country's
leading AIDS activist group, and response from the drug makers (UN
Wire </http://unwire/archives/UNWIRE010307.cfm>, 7 Mar).
http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Health/Aids_Focus/0,1113,2-14-659_1011076,00.html
Pharmaceutical companies "charge exorbitant prices which are beyond
the capacity of the ordinary HIV/AIDS person," Mandela said in an in-
terview yesterday with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
"That is completely wrong and must be condemned. The government is
perfectly entitled, in facing that situation, to resort to generic
drugs and it is a gross error for the companies ... to take the gov-
ernment to court." "Having said that," Mandela added, "I want also to
say that we must also take responsibility for not doing sufficient
work to persuade these pharmaceuticals to change their approach"
(Boyle, News24).
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Cecilia Snyder
Senior Project Associate
Communications Consortium Media Center
1200 New York Ave NW Suite 300
Washington DC 20005-1754, USA
Tel: +1-202-326-8711
Fax: +1-202-682-2154
mailto:csnyder@ccmc.org
http://www.ccmc.org
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