|
|
 |
HIV infection rate among youth may be dropping - MRC
Sheena Adams. 16 March 2005. Cape Times. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
|
The rate of HIV infection among young people might be declining, according to the Medical Research Council. Interim president of the council Professor Anthony Mbewu told MPs yesterday that the infection rate among HIV-positive women who attend public clinics had begun to plateau.
This meant that the increase in the general sero-prevalence rate, including that among young people, also might be slowing down.
During a briefing to the National Assembly's Science and Technology Committee, Mbewu said sustained government efforts in treating sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis and gonorrhoea were also contributing to slower infection rates.
Mbewu was instrumental in drawing up the government's comprehensive plan to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Between 1990 and 2003, HIV prevalence rocketed from 0.7% among pregnant women who used public health facilities to 28%. Mbewu said this translated into a sero-prevalence in the general population of approximately 12%.
The rate of infection for pregnant women at public facilities had increased by under 2% a year for the past six years, whereas before that annual increases were in the region of 4% to 5%, he said.
"This indicates that the epidemic may be levelling off and we may be reaching a plateau," he said.
"If one breaks down the data by sex and age groups, there are indications that the rate of infection among men and women aged 15 to 20 may be declining."
He said that the MRC "really did not know" the true growth rate of the epidemic, although recent figures released as part of the Statistics South Africa Causes of Death study were "obviously not correct".
That study had found that HIV/AIDS accounted for 2.8% of the total number of deaths in 2001 while Tuberculosis accounted for 16.1%.
Mbewu said sexually transmitted infections, including of syphilis and gonorrhoea, were critical factors in making people vulnerable to infection.
"In 1998, the prevalence of Syphilis among women attending public health clinics was of the order of 8%, which is extraordinary.
Through the expansion of primary health care services in this country, resulting in increasing detection and proper treatment of sexually transmitted infections among pregnant women, we've seen the rates decline to 2% by 2003.
"So if when we're thinking of an intervention that can mitigate the HIV infection and thereby mitigate the impact of the epidemic on the economy and productivity, primary health care is one of the most crucial interventions," he said.
If sexually transmitted infections could be properly detected and treated, the chances of men and women becoming infected with the HI-virus dropped significantly, he added.
Mbewu said the MRC had also picked up worrying trends with regards to the infection rates of Tuberculosis, which was also a "severe epidemic".
Health Director-General Thami Mseleku echoed this view in a separate briefing to the national assembly's health committee yesterday when he said that government appeared to be losing the battle against Tuberculosis. The number of reported cases were consistently increasing and the cure rate was still low.
"We have to make sure that we accelerate the programme because we are retrogressing in a way as a country," he told MPs. |
| Was this article helpful to you? |
 ?100%???? ?0%
|
|
Back
|
|
|
|
