E-drug: South African AIDS Epidemic
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[Long URLs will need repair]
From UN Wire
South African AIDS Epidemic Enters "Death" Phase, Experts Say
Tuesday, August 5, 2003
As mortality rates outstrip new infections, South Africa is entering
the "death" phase of its AIDS epidemic, a part of the cycle that
threatens both the health care system and the economy, scientists
said at the country's first national AIDS conference yesterday.
"Mortality is really just starting and won't peak for another three
to four years," said Rod Hoff, a senior epidemiologist in the AIDS
division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "The social and
economic impact will be considerable. Industry is really going to
take a hit as people get sick," he added.
In a country where 4.7 million people are infected with the disease
the world's highest single caseload HIV/AIDS prevalence is starting
to plateau at around 33 percent, while sickness and death are rising.
Activists say 600 South Africans die of AIDS every day.
"What we are starting to see is the real face of the epidemic," said
Quarraisha Abdool Karim, a researcher at South Africa's University of
Natal.
Researchers said that only an increased two-pronged approach of
prevention and treatment would be effective in combating HIV/AIDS in
South Africa. But the government has come under attack for its slow
response to the disease and especially for delaying the introduction
of antiretroviral drugs (Andrew Quinn,
<http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=125&art_id=qw1060001820873B232&set_id=1>
Reuters/Johannesburg Independent Online, Aug. 4).
Activist Likens South Africa's HIV Drugs Policies To Genocide
Calling South Africa's HIV drugs policies "unethical, dangerous" and
"unscientific," some pediatricians yesterday urged doctors to protest
the Medical Control Council's threat to disapprove the drug
nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
Health spokeswoman for the Inkatha Freedom Party Ruth Rabinowitz
called on doctors to "revolt" against the national policy "on behalf
of the entire medical fraternity so that we are not found guilty of
complicity with genocide."
Ashraf Coovadia, a pediatrician at Johannesburg's Coronation
Hospital, said nevirapine which costs about $4 for a single dose had
reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission to 9 percent at his
hospital.
"Around a quarter of new pediatric admissions are HIV-infected and
around 40 percent to 50 percent of the children lying in our wards
are HIV-infected," Coovadia said. He added that caring for a child
infected with HIV can cost up to $80 a month in medication.
Dr. Leela McCullough
Director of Information Services
SATELLIFE
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