Screening women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa for cervical precancer using a molecular test is much more accurate than traditional methods and could reduce costly and inconvenient procedures, according to new research published in PLoS Medicine.
National
January 30, 2021
LAHORE: Global experts have called for removing misconceptions about vaccines as Pakistan is set to start administering COVID-19 vaccine to people in a phased manner from the next week.
“As there is a need to debunk the myths and misconceptions surrounding the vaccines, yet at the same time, we must not trivialise it,” says Helen Rees, executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of Witwatersrand and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, while speaking at a Journalist Fellows Session titled “COVID vaccines and treatments” in the lead up to the 4th HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P // Virtual) convened by the International AIDS Society (IAS).
The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) has launched a stage-three trial of zoliflodacin, a potential new antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea, in South Africa as well as the United States, the Netherlands and Thailand.
The World Health Organisation started the GARDP in 2016. It is a non-profit organisation focused on developing new treatments for infections which have become resistant to available treatments. It says its mission is to produce new medicines which are accessible and affordable to all who need them.
Zoliflodacin is being trialled at three sites in South Africa – the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute based at the Hillbrow Health Precinct in Johannesburg, and two South African Medical Research Council sites at Tongaat and Botha’s Hill in KwaZulu-Natal.
The East African
Wednesday January 27 2021
Health workers prepare to test their colleagues for Covid-19 at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg. PHOTO | AFP
Summary
One of the most urgent priorities is the need for treatment for mild to moderate cases to avoid mass hospitalisations, which would overwhelm already overburdened health systems.
By MONIQUE WASUNNA
African countries are still reeling from the effects of the measures taken to contain the spread of Covid-19. Though painful, they were a vital part of the successful public health response mounted by many African leaders.
The quick responses by most African countries meant that they were able to avoid the large-scale loss of life seen elsewhere.
Shobha Shukla - CNS
The message from all scientists is very loud and clear that vaccines alone will not be able to stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after getting vaccinated, we will have to continue to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, wash hands frequently and avoid congregated settings, to break the chain of transmission of the virus.
Some leading scientists such as Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr Helen Rees, founder and Executive Director of Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Dr Robin Shattock, Professor of mucosal infection and immunity, Imperial College London; and Dr Sarah Schlesinger, Associate Professor of Clinical Investigation, Rockefeller University, New York, interacted with a select group of global health writers including me, ahead of HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) International Conference, to be held (virtually) over the