Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters New Media - July 4, 2000
Emelia Sithole

A group of three researchers appointed by Mbeki's 44-member panel said the studies could help South Africa to improve its strategies for combating the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS.

"The key issue that came under focus was the reliability of the ELISA test," said Harvey Bialy, of the Autonomous National University of Mexico, a member of the group which includes Helene Gayle of the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control and William Makgoba of the South African Medical Research Council.

"In order to address this question in South Africa a series of HIV tests of the utmost stringency would be applied to see whether a degree of concordance exists between the tests," he said.

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang earlier said a new report by the U.N. agency UNAIDS showing high AIDS infection rates among South African adults had spotlighted government concerns about the accuracy of the country's HIV tests and the reliability of its data.

"We have also built on the work of the (three-member) team ... and charged this team now to focus on the key question of validating the reliability of the tests we use in the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS," she said.

"The experiments to be done to carry out this task enjoy our support as they will also help the South African government have accurate data on which to plan," she said.

South Africa has one of the world's fastest growing HIV-AIDS epidemics in Africa, where more than 70 percent of the world's 34 million people with HIV-AIDS live.

About 4.3 million South Africans, or 10 percent of the population, are HIV positive, a toll that increases by 1,700 new infections daily, according to government statistics. A UNAIDS report released last week said 19.9 percent of South African adults were infected with HIV.

South Africa's anti-AIDS campaign has so far been dogged by controversy with Mbeki widely criticized for his refusal to give pregnant women in the public health sector the antiviral drug AZT and his doubts about the effectiveness of anti-AIDS drugs.

Mbeki has also courted controversy by including researchers like American scientist Peter Duesberg -- who contends that AIDS is not caused by HIV -- on the 44-member presidential panel advising him on the pandemic.

At a news conference earlier, Khotso Mokhele, president of the South African National Research Council fueled the controversy when he said the team of three scientists had been charged with carrying out studies and experiments to test the widely established belief that HIV causes AIDS.

The claim was hotly disputed by Makgoba, Gayle and Bialy, although Bialy said the ELISA tests could "in the far future" lead to tests on the link between HIV and AIDS.
000704
RE000702

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. .