Just testing
CATEGORIES: The Media and HIV/AIDS | Prevention and treatment | Politics and Policy | Hot in the media
9 June 2011
HIV testing has been in the spotlight over the last few days, after reports surfaced that a woman who turned to a Hillbrow clinic for treatment for pain in her hip was told that having an HIV test was compulsory.
This individual story was reported amidst DA allegations that other patients at Gauteng based clinics were told that if they did not submit to an HIV test they would be denied further treatment.
Today’s edition of The Star has reported that the Health Department has issued a statement saying an HIV test is not mandatory in order for those in need of health care to access treatment.
The department stated that while HIV testing could be recommended to patients, it was essentially the patient’s choice as to whether or not they were tested for the virus.
HIV testing remains a key issue in efforts to overcome HIV because the virus could lie ‘dormant’ in body for up to 10 years. This period is known as the latent stage of HIV infection. This means that many people are unaware that they are HIV-positive and might not take precautions in order to prevent HIV infection and/or transmission.
The HPTN 052 trial has found that ARV treatment initiated when the CD4 count is still relatively high reduces the viral load in the blood and body fluids and can thereby render an HIV-positive person non-infectious. The viral load is the amount of HIV in the body. Viral load can be established and monitored through a viral load test. The groundbreaking results of the HPTN 052 trial were anticipated by the 2008 Swiss statement.
Testing would enable South Africans to go forward with ARV treatment as soon as possible, reducing their risk of infecting their sexual partner or partners. However the South African government currently only allows people with a CD4 count of 200 to start ARV treatment, although pregnant women and those with HIV and TB can start ARVs when their CD4 count drops to 350.
The government has talked about initiating ARV treatment at a CD4 count of 350 for all HIV-positive South Africans, as this is in line with current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. However until that happens, measures proposed due to the success of the HPTN 052 trial cannot be put into practice.
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