High-speed Aids test: Chinese scientists claim to have developed an Aids test that gives results in just three hours, a Hong Kong news report said on Thursday. The test allows doctors to scan for the virus as soon as it enters the body, compared with the four to eight weeks for other tests. It also clearly determines the severity of the infection.
Better alive than dead: Zackie Achmat, the Aids activist who is refusing anti-retroviral treatment in protest against the government’s Aids policy, was more valuable alive than dead, the South African Medical Association said on Monday. Kgosi Letlape, the association’s chairperson, appealed to Achmat to begin taking life-saving drugs, which would be the most powerful way to challenge claims that anti-retroviral drugs were poisonous.
Madiba mediation: Nelson Mandela has formally asked for a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki over the issue of anti-retroviral treatment for HIV-positive people. The move follows Mandela’s talks at the weekend with Achmat. Mandela said he understood Achmat’s position and thought he had ”a case” to take to Mbeki. He also said he supported the government’s stance that research into anti-retroviral drugs was necessary to ensure that they were safe.
Source: Sapa