ARVs

A multi-national study shows that if an HIV-positive person starts taking antiretroviral therapy early on, that is, when their CD 4 count is still high, their chances of infecting their HIV-negative partner can decrease by as much as 96 percent.
 
The results of the study are viewed as confirmation of untested wisdom among clinicians who have for a number of years thought that people on combination antiretroviral therapy have a lower chance of transmitting HIV to their uninfected partners.
 

Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, says some 70 000 South African children live with HIV/AIDS and need antiretroviral treatment.

Speaking during his visit to the Pelonomi regional hospital in Bloemfontein for discussions with local health officials, Motsoaledi said his intention was to establish whether government health programmes, such as the antiretroviral programme, is implemented at the ground level.

President Jacob Zuma says experts from the University of KwaZulu-Natal have found that the dangerous recreational drug ‘Whoonga’ is not made of crushed antiretroviral drugs (ARV) mixed with other drugs.

Speaking at the first day of the two day 2nd Biennial Summit on substance abuse in Durban, Zuma states instead, the drug contains heroin mixed with rat poison and other chemicals.

Stealing antiretrovirals (ARVs) is murder, according to the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAPWA).

In a press statement, NAPWA secretary-general, Nkululeko Nxesi, points out that, “The lives of many people who are HIV positive depend on ARVs. Therefore those people who are selling ARVs... for recreational use are killing innocent people.”

Nxesi also called for better security in the public health system.