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South Africa’s government on Saturday endorsed earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy for people in the nation’s AIDS treatment program. Previously, South Africa provided ART only to patients who had a CD4 cell count of 200 or less, were pregnant, or were co-infected with TB.
“The South African National AIDS Council has endorsed the National Health Council policy to initiate treatment for all those who test positive with a CD4 count of 350 or less,” the council said in a statement. The meeting was chaired by South Africa’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
“It is a measure that will improve the quality of life of many people with HIV, reduce mortality and reduce new infections,” said the South African AIDS organization Treatment Action Group.
“This is another milestone in the battle to roll back the deadly HIV epidemic,” said the South African Congress of Trade Unions. “If these new guidelines are effectively implemented, it will improve the quality of life of many people with HIV.”
More than 1 million people in South Africa receive state-supported ART, though 5.6 million among its population of 50 million have HIV. A recent Actuarial Society of South Africa study found AIDS mortality dropped nearly 25 percent from 2005 to 2010 as the country rolled out its ART program.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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