Pretoria - As the 6th South African Aids Conference got into full swing in Durban, the Gauteng Health Department announced that it has already given Isoniazid preventative prophylaxis [TB preventive therapy] to 9 000 HIV positive people in the 2012/13 financial year.
The department reported that it has since made progress in preventing TB in HIV positive people as well as achieving a TB cure rate of 83.9% which is the highest in the country.
“The department has also installed Genexpert machines in 20 facilities which revolutionises the diagnosis of TB and MDR so that those diagnosed are put on treatment immediately. The department is also in the process of overhauling operations at its medical supply depot to ensure that there are never 'drug stock outs' and improve efficiencies,” the department said on Wednesday.
It is estimated that around 70% of new adult cases of TB in South Africa are co-infected with HIV. To prevent TB in HIV-infected individuals, in July 2010, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced the institution of massive Isoniazid prophylaxis for certain categories of HIV positive people. He also announced that all people living with HIV should be screened for active TB and eligibility for ART.
The Aids conference noted that TB is the leading cause of illness and mortality for HIV-infected individuals worldwide yet with the raging HIV and TB epidemics the implementation of TB screening, and rates of IPT use are still abysmal.
The 6th SA AIDS Conference is currently underway at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban from 18 – 21 June 2013. The conference is the second largest HIV conference in the world, attended by over 5000 people including scientists, medical practitioners and representatives from the public sector, NGOs, faith-based sectors and the corporate sector.
The conference theme “Building on Successes: Integrating Systems”, aims to review successes and chart a way forward to ensure the systems that have been developed are integrated into health policies and operations. – SAnews.gov.za
