Andrew
Sunday Mail Reporter
THE antiretroviral treatment regime currently being used in the country offers adequate protection to people living with HIV/AIDS against a super variant of the virus that was recently discovered by European scientists, a senior health official has said.
Called VB, the variant reportedly spreads faster and causes the development of AIDS between two to three times faster than other strains. National AIDS Council (NAC) chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima said authorities will ramp up testing and genomic sequencing to determine if the new strain is already in the country.
He said there is need to ensure that those who test positive are put on antiretroviral therapy.
“This should be done to avoid the development of low immunity because this variant is highly transmissible,” he said.
“The current treatment regime is effective against this strain.
“All the same, the message remains: Let us aim for everyone to know their HIV status and ensure that those who are positive are put on treatment before it is too late.
“Those on treatment should have their viral load suppressed.”
The newly published findings concluded that people living with the HIV subtype experience double the rate of immune system decline, have higher HIV viral loads and are vulnerable to developing AIDS.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has called for the urgent scaling up of HIV treatment and testing to ensure the newly discovered strain does not spread to the level of crippling the global health system.
“Ten million people living with HIV worldwide are not yet on treatment, fuelling the continued spread of the virus and potential for further variants,” said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS deputy executive director.
“We urgently need to deploy cutting-edge medical innovations in ways that reach the communities most in need.
“Whether it is HIV treatment or Covid-19 vaccines, inequalities in access are perpetuating pandemics in ways that harm us all.”
According to the World Health Organisation, between 1,5 million and two million adults and children are living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, while an estimated 564 people are infected with HIV every day.
Online Reporter