health news - page 3

positive nation

Compiled and edited by Laurence Gibson

Rebound was twice as likely for treatment-experienced patients (59 per cent) compared with patients new to treatment (31 per cent). Older patients were less likely to rebound, as were patients with higher initial CD4 counts. Mocroft concluded that the greatest risk of rebound appeared to be in the first six months following initial viral suppression. “Patients on more intensive regimens and those swapping therapy were more likely to rebound, as were treatment-experienced patients,” she said. “Among experienced patients, those who had the option of adding new drugs from the nucleoside group were at lower risk of rebound.”
One in 18 children in S. Africa has HIV
	A new study on HIV infection in South Africa has shown that children have an infection rate of 5.6 per cent, leading to worries that South Africa’s other epidemic - child abuse - is linked to the spread of HIV. The Nelson Mandela/Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) study of HIV and Aids - released earlier this month - drew for the first time on a representative sample of the local population that included all ages and population groups. Previous prevalence estimates have been extrapolated from tests on particular groups such as pregnant women or prisoners. The new study, based on nearly 9,000 participants and using anonymous saliva tests, has also shown that the white population is much more at risk
from the virus than previously thought - with around one in 16 - 6.2 per cent - carrying the virus. But black Africans remained the group at most risk, carrying an infection rate of 18.4 per cent. Investigators are not sure why the prevalence among young children is so high. Although abuse of children
is common, it is not thought to be the whole explanation because abuse is more common in girls than boys and yet the HIV rate was found to be similar between the sexes. These results are

page 3 of 6

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6