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AIDS activists ready to battle drug company

    JOHANNESBURG

    South African AIDS activists have expressed concern over the shortage of an antiretroviral drug used to treat children living with HIV/AIDS.

    The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said the shortage of efavirenz, the drug used to treat HIV infection in children older than three, had led to at least one youngster defaulting on treatment for four days.

    Research shows that failure to take medication as prescribed could lead to mutation of the HI virus, causing it to become resistant to anti-AIDS drugs.

    In an interview with a local newspaper, the Cape Argus, TAC said it was ready to go to battle with the drug manufacturer, Merck Sharp and Dohme, if nothing was done soon to correct the problem of shortages.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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