Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 48 309 362 at 10.10am on Thursday, August 29
Drop in infections: The number of young pregnant women infected with HIV in Zambia has dropped sharply, mainly due to awareness campaigns, said Health Minister Brian Chituwo.
The incidence of HIV among pregnant women aged 15 to 28 has fallen from 28% in 1993 to 16%, Chituwo said.
Zambia is among the countries worst hit by the HIV/Aids pandemic and an estimated one in five adults is infected with HIV. Chituwo said the country faced the challenge of accessing cheap and effective antiretroviral drugs for its sick people.
No plan: The Kenya Society for Deaf Children says there are no trained personnel in the country to sensitise deaf people to the dangers posed by Aids.
Ogutu Adera, a director of the society, says no effort has been made even to produce training documents or information material targeting the deaf on health issues, particularly HIV/Aids.
He says that most medical personnel lack basic communication skills to handle deaf people seeking their attention. “There is a need to institutionalise these services for deaf children and adults to prevent the epidemic from wiping out the entire deaf population in the country.”
Source: Sapa, allafrica.com
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 48 208 671 as at 10.22am on Thursday, August 22
Aids vaccine research: United States researchers have made progress in developing an Aids vaccine that would be effective against a range of strains of HIV, according to an article written in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers at the Institute of Human Virology and Advanced Bio-Science in Kensington, Maryland, said that the vaccine seems able to stimulate the production of antibodies that for the first time stop infection by several strains of HIV. The vaccine is still in an early stage of testing.
Generics for China: China’s Aids patients could get access to a domestically made variant of the drug AZT as early as next month for about one-tenth of the price of imported versions, state media said last week.
The news, which will bring hope to many thousands of sufferers who cannot pay hundreds of dollars a month for foreign treatments, comes after the manufacturers received official approval to sell the drug within the country, the China Daily newspaper said.
The current monthly treatment price of between R2 500 and R3 700 is too much for the majority of Aids patients, most of who come from poor rural areas.
Source: Sapa and www.redribbon.co.za
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 48 108 480 as at 11.27am on Thursday, August 15
Pilot programme: This week De Beers announced it would start making anti-retroviral treatment for HIV and Aids available to its employees, but it will first have to consult with the government, trade unions and other stakeholders.
All permanent employees, spouses or their life partners would be allowed to join the programme and would have access to the drugs during a two-year pilot period. The company will review its position after the trial.
Disclosing costs: The scope for massive under-disclosure of HIV/Aids costs was outlined this week by Andrew Sykes, CEO of NMG-LEVY, employee benefits consultant and a provider of HIV/Aids programmes to the corporate sector.
Sykes was speaking during a presentation, HIV/Aids Reporting for South African Business, in Johannesburg at an event calling for effective reporting guidelines.
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the stock exchange are expected to release guidelines for listed companies early next year. It will be the first time any country has insisted on HIV/Aids reporting by companies, leading some to fear it will be treated as a symbolic first step rather than an opportunity to create effective reporting structures.
Source: Sapa
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 47 992 821 as at 10.36am on Wednesday, August 7
A higher risk: A Kenyan study has found that HIV-positive men with low CD4 counts are at a higher risk of reinfection with bilharzia. Taken with other evidence, including resistance to reinfection that appears with age and after treatment that kills the flukes that cause bilharzia, researchers argue that a preventive vaccine may be possible. A study from Zimbabwe has failed to confirm previous reports that people with HIV were less likely to shed bilharzia in their urine than people without HIV. Both studies reflect a growing recognition of the importance of interactions between widespread, mostly tropical, diseases and HIV.
In the blood: A South African research team has shown that it is possible to use dried blood spots to transport samples safely for testing at a central laboratory, to get an accurate picture of rates of HIV infection among mothers and their babies. Researchers have shown that HIV rates among young mothers in parts of rural KwaZulu-Natal are up to 40% among mothers aged 21-30 in communities close to a major highway. Results were slightly lower in communities more than 50km away from main transport routes, at 29% to 34%.
Source: Aidsmap
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 47 906 356 as at 10.30am on Thursday, August 1
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
Aids helpline number: 0800 012 322