IRIN PlusNews HIV/AIDS Briefs, 29 August 2001

SOUTH AFRICA: Anti-retroviral drugs help TB - study Treatment with antiretroviral drugs has significantly reduced the incidence of tuberculosis, a University of Cape Town study has found. The Johannesburg-based ‘Beeld’ newspaper reported on Wednesday that a total of 378 HIV/AIDS patients were treated with antiretroviral drugs at the university AIDS clinic between 1996 and last year. Their results were compared with those of 562 patients who were not treated with the drugs, who visited the clinic between 1992 and 1996. The incidence of tuberculosis was 9.9 percent per year in the untreated group and 2.1 percent per year among the group treated with combination therapy of three anti-retroviral drugs, the report said. The incidence of tuberculosis among the community during both periods was unchanged. “The data shows that treatment with antiretroviral drugs significantly reduces the incidence of tuberculosis, even in communities with the highest incidence of the disease globally. It would be sound strategy to control AIDS-related tuberculosis,” ‘Beeld’ quoted the report, published in the South African Medical Journal, as saying. NIGERIA: HIV/AIDS reference laboratory opens in Lagos The HIV/AIDS Laboratory of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has been upgraded to a Reference Laboratory for Basic, Applied and Operational Research on HIV/AIDS, AFRO-NETS has reported. The revamp was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation, according to the report. The report said the revamp meant that clinical samples, which have had to be sent outside the country for testing, could be processed at the NIMR laboratory. “The Institute is now positioned to coordinate and give the necessary lead on HIV/AIDS research in the country,” the clinic was quoted as saying in a statement.