Why is the Africa HIV city care being questioned?
Results from a six-year clinical trial of 3,500 people showed that lab tests of how anti-retroviral drugs work and side-effects do little to prolong life. Money saved would enable a third more people to be treated, one doctor said. In the West, laboratory tests are routinely carried out. There is still no cure for HIV/Aids. But anti-retroviral drugs can stop the disease from developing. ‘Marginal benefits’ Scientists in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Britain followed almost 3,500 patients over six years for the study, known as Dart. Dr Peter Mugyenyi said more than six million people in Africa required care, but only 2.2 million were currently getting it. The laboratory tests are very hard to carry out in most of Africa, the research suggests. The difficulty for rural Africa is that the regular laboratory tests are expensive and require sophisticated laboratories that are often only available in cities – many hours’ drive away from the villages where people live. The trial results show the regul
More HIV/Aids patients in Africa could be treated if funds were switched from expensive laboratory testing to local care in villages, research suggests. Results from a six-year clinical trial of 3,500 people showed that lab tests of how anti-retroviral drugs work and side-effects do little to prolong life. Money saved would enable a third more people to be treated, one doctor said. In the West, laboratory tests are routinely carried out. There is still no cure for HIV/Aids. But anti-retroviral drugs can stop the disease from developing. ‘Marginal benefits’ Scientists in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Britain followed almost 3,500 patients over six years for the study, known as Dart. Dr Peter Mugyenyi said more than six million people in Africa required care, but only 2.2 million were currently getting it. The laboratory tests are very hard to carry out in most of Africa, the research suggests. We now understand that the intensive laboratory tests which are routinely done in the West only bring m
