antiretrovirals

Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi has called on the generic medicine industry to invest more into researching the long term effects of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).

Motsoaledi argues that HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease in which some cases require people to start taking medication in their 20s. This means some patients could end being on ARVs for up to 50 years.

Motsoaledi also expressed concern about the unknown side effects of such long exposures to drugs.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says international guidelines for mothers taking antiretrovirals (ARVs) may change, with new evidence showing HIV infection rates among babies are significantly cut when mothers are given prolonged ARV treatment during breastfeeding.

WHO is reviewing its 2006 recommendations on the use of ARVs in pregnant women, including during the breastfeeding period.

The new guidelines are expected to be published by the end of 2009 and will take into account emerging data.

A new United Nations study has found that the global financial crisis is impacting the ability of people with HIV and AIDS to obtain life-saving drugs.

A survey conducted last month by the World Bank, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) found that 8 out of 69 countries already face shortages of antiretroviral drugs or other disruptions to AIDS treatment.