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Researchers are warning of an
intestinal disease in sub-Saharan Africa that is affecting immune-compromised
individuals, including mostly HIV-infected individuals who are not in treatment
and children who are malnourished or infected with the malaria parasite.
Chinyere Okoro of Britain’s Wellcome
Trust Sanger Institute states that the disease, known as Salmonella
typhimurium, can be found in all of sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by a
bacterium and is found in the bloodstream, but it can invade other internal
organs.
According to Okoro, in a healthy
individual the disease causes gastroenteritis. In persons with compromised
immune systems, the disease causes a more severe reaction similar to typhoid
fever. It progresses rapidly and can cause death in a matter of days. It kills
up to 45 percent of those who are infected. HIV-infected persons who are
receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) are less likely to become infected. With
ART, the individual’s immune system is not as compromised for the disease to
take hold.
DNA analysis of the bacterium shows
that it first occurred about 50 years ago in southeastern Africa, then about 35
years ago, possibly from the Congo. These routes are similar to those taken by
HIV.
In the past decade, Salmonella
typhimurium was treated with the antibiotic chloramphenicol, but it quickly
became resistant to that drug. It can be treated with newer, more powerful, and
more expensive antibiotics. This disease emphasizes the importance of getting
HIV-infected Africans on ART and providing malaria treatment and food for
vulnerable children.
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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