Re: PROCAARE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION--HIV INFECTION--SOUTH AFR (fwd)

[Albert Shaw <ashaw@usa.healthnet.org>]

From: "Peter Godfrey-Faussett" <peter@zamnet.zm>
Organization:  ZAMBART project

> From: Ann Smith <ASMITH@cafod.org.uk>
> Subject: HIV in South Africa
> 
> A recent NY Times Editorial "Some Hope on Third World AIDS" (7th Oct. 1996)
> implied that South Africa ranks second in the world with regard to the
> estimated levles of HIV infection, surpassed only by India.

South Africa's realtively large population (around 42 million) means 
that the number of HIV infected individuals is large.  There are 
several other countries that have considerably higher national 
seroprevalences - notably Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe where more than 
20% of women attending urban antenatal clinics and around 10% of 
women attending rural antenatal clinics are HIV positive.

UNAIDS estimates for July 1996, anotated from "The Status and Trends 
of teh Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic"  a satellite symposium at the XI 
INT. AIDS COnference in Vancouver organised by AIDSCAP, 
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center and UNAIDS.  Since the report was 
published within 24 hours of the conclusion of the Symposium in order 
to distribute it to the 13,000 participants of the Conference, the 
authors state taht teh report should be considered provisional:


Sub-saharan Africa 13.3 million living with HIV of whom about 37%
live in 7 Southern African countries (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique,
South Africa, Tanzania , Zambia and Zimbabwe)

Globally 21.8 million living with HIV of whom 94% are in the 
developing world.

>From 1993-1995 HIV seroprevalence in South African antenatal clinics 
rose from 4.3% to 11% in Free State and from 9.6% to 18% in 
Kwazulu/Natal.  

Geographic variability and the size of the country make estimation 
for India difficult.  In 1994 WHO estimated 1.75 million HIV 
infections while in mid 1996 the figure is estimated to be between 2 
and 5 million.


UNAIDS and WHO have also released a fact sheet "The HIV/AIDS 
Situation in mid-1996, Global and Regional Highlights.  Fact Sheet 1 
July 1996"


There seems little doubt that the South African HIV situation is
deteriorating quite rapidly.  Urgent action to improve STD control
and to encourage sexual fidelity and condom usage would help to slow 
the rise.  Although the numbers are highest in South Africa, the 
rates are higher in most of the countries to South Africa's immediate 
North and some of the lessons learnt in Tanzania, Zaire, Malawi and 
Zambia are directly relevant to South Africa too.
Peter Godfrey-Faussett BA MBBS MRCP(UK) DTM&H
Senior Lecturer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Honorary Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Zambia 

Co-ordinator ZAMBART Project, University Teaching Hospital,  
PO Box 50110, Lusaka

Fax +260 1 250753
Phone +260 1 254710 (office) +260 1 251526 (home)
e-mail peter@zamnet.zm