Published in Africa health
This article presents a trial study of an HIV vaccine in Kenya. A joint Kenyan-Canadian-British HIV vaccine trial was launched in March of 1999. It is supported by the US-based International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). STD clinics will be used as the basis of trials, and volunteers will be injected with genetic material developed from local HIV...
Published in Africa health
This article reports on the prohibition of the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) among Senegalese women as ordered by the Senegalese parliament. People who defy the law by ordering or performing the operation, which is often carried out using unsterile or rusty instruments and without anesthetic, will be imprisoned for 5 years. Enforcing ...
Published in Africa health
This report discusses two alleged treatments of AIDS available in South Africa. A toxic industrial solvent, Virodene has been used as AIDS treatment. This drug has not been fully researched or subjected to the usual drug regulatory mechanisms, yet it is supported by many people. Another drug, developed by the Medical University of Southern Africa, ...
Published in Africa health
This is a report on the presentation at the Sixth Conference on Retroviruses of a study of the efficacy of an antiretroviral therapy in reducing vertical transmission risk. The study investigated a short-course antiretroviral regimen (comprising AZT and 3TC) that was administered for 1 week beginning at the time of delivery. Transmission rates were...
Published in Africa health
The use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is a new technique employed to help solve the problem of malarial spread in the tropical world. Studies conducted in four African countries indicated that ITNs had prevented 1 death in every 100 children. In some projects, ITNs were also found to have produced a level of malaria protection comparable to th...
Published in Africa health
Histopathological studies conducted clearly demonstrate that the genital tract of HIV-infected women is an active site for viral replication, as it contains virus-producing cells; these are especially concentrated in the submucosa of the cervical transformation zone. Biological observation supports this assumption by explaining that virus productio...
Published in Africa health
The Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness is a 25-year plan established by the WHO Program for the Prevention of Blindness. Together with several nongovernmental development organizations, the initiative seeks to address the problem of the growth in the number of blind people worldwide. It is estimated that there are over 45 ...
Published in Africa health
An outbreak of cholera which killed 17 people at Kalokol on the shores of Lake Turkana has been brought under control. Rift Valley provincial medical officer, Dr. Kenneth Chebet, said 369 cases had been attended to within 1 month but no new cases were now being seen. AMFEF airlifted medical supplies to augment government efforts in the affected are...
Published in Africa health
TB (tuberculosis) clubs were first introduced in the Estie district of South Gonder administrative zone, Amhara region of northwestern Ethiopia in January 1997, in an attempt to improve TB control in rural areas. Before the clubs were introduced, patients who were family members or close neighbors were given different treatment follow-up dates. Wal...
Published in Africa health
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the death rate from unsafe abortion in Africa is 110/100,000 live births, the highest in the world. In the US, the death rate from abortion is 0.6/100,000. The WHO has concluded that reducing unwanted pregnancies in Africa would dramatically reduce the number of deaths from unsafe abortion. Death f...
