AFRICA: Cheap method discovered to monitor AIDS treatment

JOHANNESBURG, 3 Nov 2003 (PLUSNEWS) - A new method of monitoring the success of antiretroviral drugs in people living with HIV/AIDS could slash testing costs in the developing world, researchers have said.

While the prices of antiretroviral drugs in poorer countries have begun to drop, tests to monitor the success of those drugs remain complicated and expensive.

Researchers say they are now able to replicate tests normally carried out by sophisticated machines to evaluate the health of a patient's immune system, by using samples of dried blood and ordinary filter paper.

Alimuddin Zumla, a professor of infectious diseases and international health at University College London, was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying: "This way would cost only 50 [American] cents to a dollar, including the lab technician's salary."

The tests, which are critical to ensuring whether an HIV-positive person is responding to treatment, currently cost an average of about US $40 per test.

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