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HIV-cholera link muted

    JOHANNESBURG

    HIV has been blamed as one of the underlying causes of the persistence of the cholera epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal which has claimed 60 lives out of some 15,500 cases since August, the South African news Web site WOZA reported. Mike Ellis, opposition Democratic Alliance spokesperson on health said cholera usually runs its course fairly quickly as people exposed to it develop immunity, but HIV infection prevents the development of immunity.

    “This may explain why the epidemic has been so persistent in KwaZulu-Natal - the area with the highest HIV infection rate in the country,” Ellis said in a statement on Wednesday. He called on the government health department’s anti-cholera initiative to include an AIDS-prevention campaign as part of a longer term health strategy. A UN health official told IRIN on Tuesday that there could be a link between HIV and cholera in the southeastern province, but more research was required.

    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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