| SOUTH AFRICA: No ARVs in 'whoonga', say experts |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 10 February 2011 (PlusNews) - Media in South Africa recently erupted into a frenzy of coverage of an allegedly new illegal drug, 'whoonga', said to contain life-prolonging antiretrovirals (ARVs), but experts say the drug is actually an old foe, heroin, and does not include ARVs.
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| AFRICA: Need for systematic HIV drug resistance testing |
![]() NAIROBI, 8 February 2011 (PlusNews) - HIV is a tough enough diagnosis, but when one contracts a strain of HIV resistant to some life-prolonging medicines, treatment options are limited. A new study has found that transmitted HIV drug resistance may be on the rise in Africa, and the authors warn that unless resistance surveillance is increased, the continent's treatment programmes could suffer.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: HIV testing in schools is a minefield |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 7 February 2011 (PlusNews) - South Africa is preparing to take HIV testing into the classroom as part of its national voluntary HIV testing and counselling campaign, but testing kids is controversial and implementing the programme is fraught with challenges – just ask those already doing it.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: HIV stalls progress on MDGs |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 3 January 2011 (PlusNews) - The HIV/AIDS epidemic is severely hampering South Africa’s ability to achieve several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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| SOUTH AFRICA: New ARV tender halves drug prices |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 20 December 2010 (PlusNews) - South Africa’s newly announced tender for antiretrovirals (ARVs) has halved the price the government will pay for the life-saving drugs; however, fixed dose combinations, which would decrease the pill burden, are still largely absent from the deal.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: Nurses step into ART breach |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 15 December 2010 (PlusNews) - At Malvern Clinic, a primary healthcare facility serving an impoverished suburb east of Johannesburg’s city centre, every seat was taken on a recent Monday morning.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: HIV prevention drugs raise more questions than answers |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2010 (PlusNews) - Recent studies have shown that antiretroviral [ARV] drugs can reduce the risk of HIV-infection but for researchers and governments - the research raises more questions than answers about its implementation.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: MSM left out of media, prevention programmes |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 26 November 2010 (PlusNews) - Men who have sex with men (MSM) do not make headlines in South African media and HIV experts have warned that a lack of accurate coverage prevents targeted HIV prevention and care for these men.
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| HIV/AIDS: MSM groups hail pill to prevent HIV |
![]() NAIROBI, 24 November 2010 (PlusNews) - Gay rights groups have hailed the results of the first study to show that an antiretroviral (ARV) drug can prevent HIV as an important step in the fight against HIV, but say that in countries that criminalize homosexuality, the breakthrough is unlikely to have a significant impact.
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| SOUTH AFRICA: HIV prevalence among farm workers hits 40 percent |
![]() JOHANNESBURG, 23 November 2010 (PlusNews) - The HIV prevalence rate among farm workers in South Africa is about 40 percent, the highest ever recorded in southern Africa, according to a new study.
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