Anti-AIDS drug Nevirapine remains an option for the treatment of mother to child transmission despite the deaths of five women during the course of a local trial involving the drug, according to Health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
"The South African government is not stupid... We will not say tomorrow that HIV does not cause AIDS," says the health minister, who says that the international panel on HIV/AIDS that she is putting together will help to find an African approach to the epidemic.
A small minority of researchers seem to have succeeded in South Africa where they have failed elsewhere. They have gained the ear of the media and the public in calling to question whether HIV does cause AIDS. Worldwide, the vast majority of reputable scientsists are clear about the transmission and effect of the HI virus on the human body. ANSO THOM goes back to the basics. See also: How safe is sex?
Every day South Africans are being bombarded with safer sex or HIV/AIDS messages. Many, generally from unreliable sources, are simply urban legends while others should be taken seriously.But how do we know whether we are having safe sex?
Policing domestic violence is difficult at the best of times, but virtually impossible when the police officers expected to arrest the attackers also assault their partners. This is one of the dilemmas facing Captain Annette Strampe, head of the Northern Cape's victime empowerment programme.
Alcohol abuse, unemployment and zero prospects make the Northern Cape the country's most violent province, with the highest rape and assaults rates per 100 000 people.
Despite high levels of alcohol and drug abuse in Cape Town, very few public rehabilitation centres exist to provide free treatment to those without private medical aids. This is according to a recent study by the Medical Research Council. Jo Stein reports.
President Thabo Mbeki has never said that HIV does not cause AIDS, but he is prepared to consult all players and question all theories including "the unwavering belief that HIV is the sole cause of AIDS -- in his quest to get to grips with the disease.So said presidential spokesperson Parks Mankahlana this week in response to the controversy caused by Mbeki's contact with a group of scientists who deny HIV causes or plays any role in AIDS.
A new fortified cookie designed to suppliment micronutrients in school children is being launched in Durban today (22 March 2000). The carotino-nutritional biscuit is the product of four years of scientific tests. It was developed by the MRC to eliminate the widespread deficiency in vitamins A, E and iron which is essential for good mental and physical development in South African children.
In one year, five community health workers and two volunteer nurses have transformed health care in the Masiphumelele community near Noordhoek, reversing the low cure rate for tuberculosis to reach an astounding 100%.
Don'€™t rely on the workers'€™ compensation system to provide for you if you get injured at work; the system may only add insult to injury. This is according to a submission to the Public Protector requesting a formal inquiry into the Office of the Compensation Commissioner.
Johannesburg Hospital'€™s HIV/AIDS Clinic has virtually stopped seeing new patients, referring most cases to primary health care clinics, ill equipped in dealing with HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.This latest revelation follows short on the heels of the closure last year of the HIV/AIDS Clinic at Pretoria Academic Hospital and allegations that about R40 million of government AIDS funds for 1999/2000 has not yet been spent.
Soweto researchers are expected to release the long awaited results of the Nevirapine trials at the AIDS 2000 conference in Durban in July. According to Dr James McIntyre, co-director of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital'€™s Peri-Natal HIV Research Unit, most of the mothers who enrolled have now given birth.
When it comes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) its seems that public health care offers patients more appropriate treatment and better medication. However, because of the sensitive nature of STDs, many patients still tend to opt for private care. JO STEIN explores the findings of a recent research report.
The difference between diseases children can easily catch from one another, like flu, and those they can'€™t, like HIV/AIDS is the subject of a new play, "Inside Out", produced by the Arepp Educational Trust.
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