Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - December 5, 2002
Many patients fear the stigma associated with HIV/Aids and want as few people as possible to know their HIV status, so they refuse to have additional tests, according to the president of Progressive Primary Health Healers of Africa, Kaizer Gumede-Maebela.
Speaking at an Aids awareness event in Ohrigstad, near Lydenburg in Mpumalanga, this week, Gumede-Maebela said about 85% of black people prefer to consult traditional healers rather than doctors.
"When we [traditional healers] recognise HIV/Aids symptoms in our patients we give them counselling and ask them to go for an Aids test at a hospital or clinic," said Gumede-Maebela.
Those who test HIV-positive usually return to traditional healers for help to alleviate the symptoms associated with the virus, but are then reluctant to do follow-up tests.
Traditional healers use herbal medicine to boost peoples' immune systems and treat opportunistic diseases.
A problem arises when patients refuse to have follow-up tests to determine their T-cell count, which helps traditional healers and doctors to asses their immunity level and determine what treatment they can offer.
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