Demands for MEC to act against Rath

Dr ANDREW BOULLE: What we’€™re particularly concerned about is that doctors and nurses in the province are increasingly encountering patients who are coming to them having been approached by agents of the Dr Rath Health Foundation and then, being encouraged to stop taking their antiretroviral treatment and start taking vitamin preparations. They are usually told that they can’€™t take these with the antiretrovirals. We’€™ve got a number of cases where patients have actually stopped their antiretroviral treatment because of the confusion that’€™s been caused by the Rath Foundation agents.

KHOPOTSO: Can you talk about numbers ‘€“ what numbers of patients have you got who have actually stopped taking treatment as a result of being approached by people from the Rath Foundation?

Dr ANDREW BOULLE:   Look, we can’€™t quantify it exactly because we haven’€™t done a survey of everyone. But just from anecdotal reports in the last week ‘€“ I’€™ve had reports from G.F. Jooste Hospital, from the Gugulethu Day Hospital, and from two of the CHCs in Khayelitsha where clinicians have told me about patients that have come to them with Rath Foundation products. In some cases having stopped the treatment and in some cases not having stopped the treatment, but being incredibly confused.

KHOPOTSO: What are the dangers actually that people face when they come to stopping their treatment as a result of this, or any other factor, for that matter?

Dr ANDREW BOULLE: When patients start antiretrovirals, often they are at an extremely vulnerable stage of HIV infection clinically and any delay or stopping treatment can be the difference between life and death because they delay the antiretrovirals and delay the improvement in the immune system, which come as a result of treatment. They are, therefore, vulnerable to opportunistic infections for that period and those infections can be the difference between life and death.

But it’€™s not just those patients that are at risk, even patients who are stable and have been taking antiretrovirals for a long time and their CD 4 counts have gone up. If they frequently stop and start antiretrovirals because of confusion about whether or not they should be taking the Rath products, this can lead to a higher probability that they can develop resistance and drug resistance in turn can lead to treatment failure down the line.

The last public health risk is that as more and more patients are sub-optimally adherent to their antiretroviral medicine there would be more chance of resistant HIV strains circulating and then, people might become infected with the resistant strain, which is a public health risk.

KHOPOTSO: On that last point you’€™re actually talking about risks to the community at large, is it?

Dr ANDREW BOULLE:  That’€™s right. There’€™s a risk for patients newly going on to antiretroviral treatment. There’€™s a risk for patients who are stable on antiretroviral treatment. And there’€™s a risk for the community at large.

KHOPOTSO: You spoke earlier about opportunistic infections that people might actually be susceptible to if they stop antiretroviral therapy. Have you seen these actually happening among the people who have reported having stopped their therapy?

Dr ANDREW BOULLE: We’€™re not in a position to investigate these cases. This is one of the reasons why we’€™re calling on the government because they have the mechanisms to explore these. But what we’€™ve heard and we know of – two affidavits of patients who have actually died whilst being on the Dr Rath products when they should have been on antiretrovirals  – and a further three cases not yet substantiated by affidavits where patients have died. So, there definitely are cases where patients’€™ health have been endangered and compromised and there probably are a lot more cases that just are not documented.

KHOPOTSO: All in all what are you saying, what is it that you want to see being done?

Dr ANDREW BOULLE: As health professionals we’€™re bound by conscience to try and make sure that something happens. The kind of things that we would imagine could be done are things like government clearly distancing themselves from the Rath Foundation. If I can quote to you from the Rath Foundation’€™s latest publication released in September and distributed very widely in the province, they claim, and I’€™m quoting here, ‘€œthe Dr Rath Health Foundation Africa has the support of our Minister of Health and our government. Trust our government and those who support it’€.

And for us that’€™s scandalous that somebody out there who is causing harm to patients is claiming the support of our government and our government is yet to distance themselves from that Foundation. So, the first thing we would like to see is that the government clearly states that we do not support the Dr Rath Health Foundation and that we disapprove of their activities.          

E-mail Khopotso Bodibe

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