Earlier this week, reports surfaced of doctors in the US who had successfully “cured” an infant of HIV. According to the Mail & Guardian, the child was born HIV positive and placed on ARV treatment consisting of three different anti-retroviral drugs at 30 hours. Now, two and a half years later, the child is regarded [...]
Ahead of World Aids day tomorrow (Sat 1 Dec) there is a large movement taking place encouraging people to get tested and know their status. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi took to television to deliver the message himself this morning, proudly displaying a bandage from his own test which has been administered five minutes before he [...]
As an activist, I am always looking for new opportunities to increase awareness of HIV and Aids education. Now, a fantastic new partner has come on board to help spread the message to a whole new generation. Connect-Ed is an initiative by Durex that I am proud to put my name to. Working together, we [...]
One of the reasons that scientists have found it so difficult to create a vaccine against Aids is that the HI virus has the ability to mutate once it enters a host body. This means that it is incredibly difficult to create antibodies that target the virus, since the virus can just change to a [...]
The UN has issued a strong statement highlighting the importance of human rights in the preventing the spread of HIV and Aids. With Human Rights Day only recently passed, it seems appropriate to reflect on the issues raised. Speaking during the first UN Human Rights Council panel on HIV, the UN High Commissioner for Human [...]
There’s no doubt that technology plays an important role when it comes to HIV awareness and education. We’ve already looked at smartphone apps that help users locate free condoms. Now, amidst a large increase in condom use amongst young South Africans, a new website aims to use the power of social media to promote condom use and [...]
The subject of the origins of the HIV virus is a controversial one. While it is commonly accepted that the first cases of AIDS were reported in America in the 1980s, the most common theory is that the disease has its origins in Africa as early as the 1950s. There are many theories about how [...]
We’ve discussed some scary statistics when it comes to HIV and Aids. We’ve also spoken before about the importance of condoms in preventing the spread of HIV. Now, according to TimesLive, a recent study conducted by the Royal Society has shown just how effective they can be. According to figures published in the Royal Society [...]
We’ve spoken before about getting the message out about preventing HIV transmission in cases of rape: it is possible, but it requires thorough education and quick action. PEPs (Post-exposure-prophylaxis) are effective if taken within 72 hours of exposure, and a complete 28 day course of PEP treatment has been shown to almost eliminate the chance [...]
A recently released statistic from the South African Institute for Race Relations estimates that South Africa’s population would be larger by about 4.4 million people were it not for deaths due to HIV/Aids. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily mean that 4.4 million people have died of Aids or Aids-related illnesses. We have to assume that [...]