Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg) - October 20, 2000
Defiant: The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has launched a defiance campaign with the illegal importation of a generic drug used to treat opportunistic infections. So far the TAC has bought 5 000 capsules of a generic form of fluconozole - used in the treatment of a form of meningitis, as well as thrush - and plans to make them available to pharmacists. HIV-positive people needing the drugs will be able to access them with a doctor's script.
Preventing infections: Rape survivors in the Western Cape will have free access to the anti-retroviral drug AZT, in a bid to reduce their chances of catching HIV from their attackers. The provincial government will fund the estimated R2-million campaign, which will be rolled out over the next four weeks.
Last month the province approved a R6-million project to give AZT to HIV- positive pregnant women in an attempt to reduce the rate of transmission of the virus to their children.
Big business: Supermarket chain Pick 'n Pay will provide AZT to all pregnant employees who are infected with HIV, and to rape survivors, the company announced this week.
Pick 'n Pay financial director Dennis Cope said it was likely 250 to 300 women would take up the offer.
Expanding: The government has announced it will expand trials testing the efficacy and safety of using the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
The trials will now be extended to include one urban and one rural test site in each province.
Infected: With HIV, a nine-year-old girl from Soweto, who says she became HIV- positive after being raped by her stepfather two years ago.
The trial of the stepfather is still continuing.
001020
MG001009
Copyright © 2000 - Daily Mail & Guardian. For information about the content or for permission to redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact the publisher.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .