Viral Load Testing Dismally Absent in Africa

A CD4 testing machine. Research by the University of Zimbabwe shows that female patients with high CD4 counts have developed a nevirapine toxicity. Credit: Jennifer Mckellar/IPSBy Miriam GathigahNAIROBI, May 19 2014 (IPS) As Africa scales up lifesaving antiretroviral therapy for HIV positive people, concerns are rife that the absence of mass routine viral load testing will hamper extending treatment to the millions who need it. “Routine viral load testing helps catch people who are failing on treatment before they generate resistance to antiretrovirals and helps keep them less infectious,” explains Teri Roberts, diagnostics adviser at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Viral load testing, the gold standard in antiretroviral therapy (ART) monitoring, measures HIV levels in the blood, an indicator of the drugs’ success. The World Health Organisation recommends viral load monitoring six months after starting ART, at 12 months, and every 12 months thereafter. But a viral load test, although routine in wealthy countries, is scarce and expensive in Africa. “A viral load test in Kenya is 25 dollars at the National Programme on AIDS, while a similar test in a clinic in Asia costs about 11 dollars,” says Roberts. In Africa, viral load tests are scarce and expensive. A breakdown of the average cost per viral load test. Courtesy: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) An MSF study on world prices of viral load testing found “a dramatic gap” between the manufacturing cost and ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Africa Countdown to ZERO Development & Aid Featured Headlines Health Population Poverty & MDGs Projects Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Global Fund to Fight AIDS Kenya PEPFAR Source Type: news