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Mother-to-child AIDS drug withdrawn

    JOHANNESBURG

    Nevirapine, the sole anti-AIDS drug for preventing the transmission of HIV from mother to child has been phased out by South Africa's Medicines Control Council (MCC).

    The Council said it had withdrawn registration of the drug because it caused "significant resistance" - a potentially serious problem for HIV-positive women.

    De-registration does not affect the use of combination therapies that include Nevirapine, the MCC said in a statement, but the move has created uncertainty for thousands of HIV-positive people.

    Supporting the council's decision, Dr Glenda Gray, director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Wits University said: "A number of recent studies, including a World Health Organisation expert consultation report in February, confirm the view of the [Council] that Nevirapine monotherapy is less efficacious than combination regimens."

    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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