Aids-related deaths in South Africa: 2 432 331 at noon on March 26
Rise in TB linked to HIV: Efforts to combat the spread of tuberculosis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been slowed by the problem of TB patients also infected with HIV, local health officials said.
‘The disease [TB] is on the increase because there is a link with HIV — there are co-infected patients,’ said Guylaine Tshitenge, an activist of the National Anti-Tuberculosis League NGO in DRC during a march organised in Kinshasa on March 24 to mark the World Day to Combat Tuberculosis.
DRC Minister of Health Makwenge Kaput said close to 100 000 cases of TB were recorded in the DRC in 2006, ranking the country 11th of the 22 states most affected by TB in the world and fourth in Africa.
‘TB is still a serious public health problem despite the policy of free medication available across the country,” said Kaput.
According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Control 2008, released on March 17, the pace of progress to control the TB epidemic slowed slightly in 2006. From 2001 to 2005 the average rate at which new TB cases were detected was increasing by 6% a year, but between 2005 and 2006 the rate was cut in half to 3%.
About 1,5-million people died from TB in 2006, according to the WHO. Another 200 000 people with HIV died from HIV-associated diseases.
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Aids-related deaths in South Africa: 2 419 055 at noon on March 12
Extending lives: A study conducted in Uganda and published this month in The Lancet has found that home-based ARV therapy provided by trained lay counsellors could be the best option for HIV-infected people living in remote, rural areas.
Mortality dropped more than 90% among HIV-positive participants and their families receiving home-based care. Instead of clinic visits, lay counsellors visited patients in their homes to deliver medication, support them in adhering to their drugs, collect blood samples and refer those with symptoms to clinics. The programme also eased the burden on local health centres.
Mortality among the dependants of HIV-positive participants decreased, as parents who were well cared for were in turn better able to care for their children.
Although most participants lacked post-primary education and lived without electricity or running water, between 89% and 97% reported taking at least 95% of their ARVs — a better rate than many clinics are able to achieve.
Source: www.plusnews.org
Aids-related deaths in South Africa: 2 412 421 at noon on March 5
Slow start: Much excitement greeted last year’s opening of Quality Chemicals, the first manufacturer of antiretroviral (ARV) medication in East Africa, but six months later the production lines are idle.
The factory, which cost about $38-million and covers 1 115m2, can produce two million ARV tablets in an eight-hour shift, but the National Drug Authority (NDA) of Uganda has not yet granted it a licence to produce the life-prolonging pills.
A long inspection process required for licensing and manufacturing the drugs has caused the delay, but factory officials expect it to be granted in the very near future.
Quality Chemicals MD Emmanuel Katongole said the cost of its ARVs would be significantly lower than the $15 a month the government paid for imported generics. He also anticipated orders from the ministries of health in neighbouring Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
But until the factory gets the go-ahead from the World Health Organisation (WHO), and ARVs from Quality Chemicals are added to its list of recommended drugs after a WHO-NDA joint inspection, neither governments nor NGOs will buy.
‘There is an understanding that if Quality Chemicals produces commodities of international standards, approved by the WHO at a competitive price, then the ministry of health will procure,” said Kenya Mugisha, director of clinical and community health services for the health ministry. ‘But they must meet general manufacturing practices.”
Source: www.plusnews.org