One hundred and fifty-three (153) out of a total of 6,196 pregnant women screened for the infection in 2017, tested positive.

Mrs. Josephine Ahorsu, the Municipal Health Director, said in the year 2016, 59 of them were found to be carrying the virus.

[contextly_sidebar id=”j38iobRb4ABFfqOBp8wWaBh7PIrpAPIb”]Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the annual performance review meeting of the municipal health directorate in Ejisu, she indicated that, within the two-year period, 141 HIV-infected pregnant women were put on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

She said they had upped the fight against the spread of the infection through the combination of comprehensive public education and screening of pregnant women.

She added that, their goal was to find the HIV status of those pregnant, properly counsel and provide them with drugs, to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

Mrs. Ahorsu said they were making good progress as more pregnant women, who had been infected were being identified and supported.

She pointed out that, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, was critical to save babies born to HIV infected parents from getting the disease.

She announced that 16 tuberculosis (TB) patients – nine men and seven women, screened for HIV were also found positive.

Mrs. Ahorsu touched on hypertension and diabetes, and said these non-communicable diseases were also on a surge with cases of hypertension, climbing from 1,494 in 2016, to 2,791 in 2017, while diabetes rose from 515 to 828, during the period.

She spoke of significant reduction of malaria cases – dropping to 40,624, last year, from the 2016 figure of 46,289.

This notwithstanding, she said, it continued to be the leading out-patient department (OPD) morbidity in the municipality.

She identified inadequate staff accommodation, lack of vehicles, equipment and logistics as challenges they had been struggling with and called for strong support.

Mrs. Ahorsu praised the chiefs, municipal assembly and health workers for working together to improve the quality of healthcare.

–

Source: GNA

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The figure increased from 12,000 new infections in 2015 to 20,418 in 2016.

The increase in new infections is a matter of concern because Ghana recorded significant gains in the key target areas of ending HIV/AIDS for five years.

New infections drop 30% between 2009 and 2014.

Between 2009 and 2014, the country recorded a 30 per cent reduction in new HIV infections and a 43 per cent reduction in AIDS-related deaths.

15,116 Died from HIV and AIDS-related illness in 2016.

A Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) report also revealed that in 2016, a total of 15,116 people in Ghana died of HIV and AIDS-related illness.

12,585 Adults died of AIDS in 2016

Out of the total AIDS-related deaths, 12,585, representing 83 per cent, were adults.

2,531 Children under 14 years died of AIDS

Similarly, 2,531 AIDS-related deaths, representing 17 per cent, were children under 14 years.

293,804 People are living with HIV

Again, an estimated 293,804 people are living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ghana.

261,770 Adults living with HIV

According to the data, of those living with HIV, 261,770, representing 89 per cent, are adults?

32,034 Children living with HIV.

In the same vein, 32,034, representing 11 per cent, of those living with the virus are children.

Gender breakdown
Among the PLHIV, 115.244, representing 39 per cent, are males and 178,560 (61 per cent) are females.

According to the report, the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions recorded the highest prevalence rate of 2.7 per cent for 2016, which is above the national HIV prevalence of 2.4 per cent.

The Northern Region registered the lowest prevalence rate, recording 0.7 per cent prevalence rate.

Figures for other regions

The prevalence rates for the other regions are: Eastern – 2.6 per cent, Ashanti – 2.6 per cent, Western – 2.5 per cent, Upper West – 2.5 per cent, Greater Accra – 2.4 per cent, Central – 1.8 per cent, and Upper East – 1.7 per cent.

HIV prevalence was higher in urban areas, hitting 2.5 per cent, compared to 1.9 per cent for rural areas.

HIV among pregnant women increase

The National AIDS Control Programme said the report shows an increase in the prevalence rate among pregnant women, representing a second consecutive time of rising incidence among Ghanaian pregnant women.

Two consecutive upsurges

According to the report, the HIV prevalence for 2016 of 2.4 per cent represents a second consecutive upsurge from the 2014 prevalence of 1.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent in 2015.

HIV prevalence among ages 45-49 highest

It revealed that HIV prevalence by age group 45-49 is highest at 5.6 per cent, followed by 35-39, with 15-19 being the lowest at 0.6 per cent.

Agormanya, Sunyani top urban sites

The highest prevalence within urban sites was 4.2 per cent in Agormanya in the Eastern Region and Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, with Wa in the Upper West Region with 3.7 per cent.

Rural prevalence highest at Fanteakwa

Rural prevalence ranged from 0.5 per cent in Builsa in the Upper East Region, Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region and Salaga in the Northern Region to 3.3 per cent in Fanteakwa in the Eastern Region.

Types of HIV recorded in 2016

According to the report, the proportion of HIV subtype 1 is 98.5 per cent compared to 1.5 per cent for dual HIV type 1 and 2 infections while there was no HIV type 2 infection.

Syphilis figures

It said median syphilis prevalence for 2016 is 0.2 per cent and the regional syphilis infections ranged from zero in the Brong Ahafo and Upper East regions to 0.8 per cent in the Central Region.

The HIV Sentinel Survey is a cross-sectional survey targeting pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in selected areas in the country.

In the last 11 years, health officials say, the HIV Sentinel Survey data have been used as the primary data source for the national HIV and AIDS estimates.

Director-General of the GAC, Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi told journalists in Accra that the increase in new infections is a call for concern.

The commission has admitted that the preventive education had not been done effectively these days.

“These days, people see me and ask, ‘So is this HIV still in existence’.
And so I think we shouldn’t rest on our oars,” she observed.

She announced that the strategic objectives of GAC for the year 2018 are to ensure the availability of funding for all relevant HIV programmes, review and formulate policies towards epidemic control.

Dr Adu-Gyamfi said all those could be achieved through the implementation of the provision of the GAC ACT 938, especially the HIV and AIDS Fund and its effective management.

She also said there would be a revision of the current National HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STI) Policy to reflect the country’s needs and current global trends.

There would also be a continuation of the implementation of recent policies and programmes of the national response to the epidemic, adopted by the nation, such as the 90-90-90 Fast Track Target, the Treat All Policy, and the Differentiated Models of Care.

According to Dr Adu-Gyamfi, “All these are expected to spur the nation on in its efforts to achieve the National Strategic Plan 2016-2020 targets of reducing new infections and AIDS-related deaths”.

She noted that the commission and its partners would step up programmes to help prevent HIV infection through education and prevention of mother-to-child transmission and early infant diagnosis, and link up those infected to care and treatment.

The commission would also widen access to HIV treatment through the training of lay counsellors, reduce stigma and discrimination against PLHIV and those affected by HIV through advocacy while strengthening the implementation of task-sharing guidelines, with emphasis on community level actors.

Dr Adu-Gyamfi announced that the National HIV and AIDS Research Conference would be held in May 2018 to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and smart practices in HIV research and programmes, as well as disseminate findings from relevant HIV and AIDS research.

She urged the media, especially, and all partners to support the commission to achieve its set targets for the general good of the country.

The meeting, aimed to chart the way forward in the fight of the HIV epidemic in 2018, was attended by regional, district and national officers of the commission, and chaired by Dr Adu-Gyamfi, who briefed the media on the outcomes of the meeting.

–

Source: The Finder Newspaper

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Valentino Talluto is said to have had unprotected sex with at least 53 women after his HIV diagnosis in 2006, the youngest of whom was 14 at the relationship’s start.

The accountant, using the pseudonym “Hearty Style”, went on social networks and dating sites to find his victims.

On Friday, judges sentenced the 33-year-old to 24 years in prison.

Talluto’s defence lawyers had argued their client’s actions were “imprudent, but not intentional”.

However, those who asked him to wear a condom were told he was either allergic, or had recently been tested for HIV, news agency AFP reported.

When some of the women confronted him after discovering they were infected, he denied he was a carrier of the potentially deadly virus, which can lead to Aids.

As a result of his actions, another four people contracted the virus on top of the women he directly infected: three men and one baby.

Prosecutor Elena Neri told the court last month: “His actions were intended to sow death.”

However, Talluto – whose mother was an HIV-infected drug addict who died when he was four – told the court if that had been the case, he would not have gone to the effort of having actual relationships.

“Many of the girls know my friends and family,” he said. “They say that I wanted to infect as many people as possible. If that had been the case, I would have gone for casual sex in bars, I would not have brought them into my life.”

Judges in Rome deliberated over the sentence for more than 10 hours before announcing the verdict.

According to local media, victims wept as the sentence was read out. However, it fell short of the life term prosecutors had asked for.

–

Source: BBC

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These special clinics include nutritional rehabilitation, STI and dermatology clinic, and these strategies are expected to maximize provider initiated testing within health facilities in the country under the ‘treat all’ policy adopted in 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Pd51qpCLIdmVuezot3C4T4a0jxYqwffD”]The 90-90-90 targets that by 2020, 90 per cent of people living with HIV should be aware of their status, 90 per cent of all Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) receive ART, and 90 per cent of people on ART achieving viral suppression within 12 months.

According to a statement signed by Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director-General, GHS, “these targets indicate a rapid scale-up between 2017 and 2020, as a critical opportunity to lay the foundation to end the AIDS epidemic in 2030”.

The statement urged all facilities to utilize the pediatric HIV formulations instead of breaking up adult tablets to children, and cautioned that “this is not and should not be construed as an endorsement of coercive or mandatory HIV testing” adding that, it was in the interest of achieving the targets set to end the AIDS epidemic.

The statement noted that, the “treat all” policy require that viral load measurement is used in monitoring HIV clients on treatment, therefore facilities should engage the district health administrations through the district HIV focal persons for sample transport to the regional testing site and result transmission to request facilities.

The statement added that, additional commodities had been made available at the Regional Medical Stores (RMS), to support the policy, and urged managements of the RMSs and health facilities across the country to strategize to implement the policy.

–

Source: GNA

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Superintendent of Prisons, Cephas Nuwordu said more should be done to meet the nutritional requirements of the patients.

He complained that the current food ration given to them was insufficient, rendering those living with the disease weak and sickly after taking their anti-retroviral drugs.

Supt Nuwordu, who is the officer in-charge of the Kumasi Central Prison Infirmary, also noted that people put on the life-time therapy required a special diet to keep their vital organs and boost their immunity – to suppress the virus.

This, he added, was the way to assist prolong their lives.

There are currently 24 prisoners on antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the facility and he said they had always been complaining of hunger.

“They have been crying for food all the time. They need to take in more fruits and eat their food whilst hot, but they are not getting this.”

Supt Nuwordu said things must change to give the patients, some of them are doing between 16 and 35 years, a chance to live longer.

He mentioned huge unpaid health bills as the other major worry as the hospitals were getting increasingly reluctant to treat sick prisoners.

There is also the added challenge of overcrowding at the prison, something that is making it difficult for tuberculosis (TB) control.

TB cases there rose from 12, in year 2015, to 31, in 2016.

–

Source:GNA

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On Tuesday, President Edgar Lungu announced that testing for the virus that causes Aids, as well as counselling and treatment, will no longer be done on a voluntary basis.

The aim is to make Zambia Aids-free by 2030.

The move has however divided opinion with some political parties and human rights campaigners arguing it will infringe on people’s privacy.

But Chief Government Spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga tells the BBC that Zambia stands by its plans:

“Before the results are given to you, you will be counselled by qualified health practitioners. They are not just going to test you and say, ‘you are HIV positive’. No. You will immediately be on treatment, which will even help with other chronic diseases.”

“It is your life and the government has the duty to save the lives of its nationals. Those that are saying ‘it’s my privacy and you are infringing on my rights’, what human rights [do you mean] when people are saving your life to prolong your life? [The] government is saying if you cannot be responsible for your own life, let government take responsibility.”

It is estimated that 81% of admissions at the University Teaching Hospital, the Zambia’s biggest referral hospital, are HIV-related.

Zambia has one of the highest prevalences in southern Africa, with 11.6% of Zambian adults aged 15 to 49 years being HIV positive, according to the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council.

–

Source: BBC

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According to officials of the National HIV control programme, there has been an increase in the Antenatal care (ANC) prevalence rate among pregnant women in the country, which stood at 1.6 – 1.8 in 2014 but has risen to 2.4 in 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”vabDlvk15qaOl9xIHU5yxK1bIkSXSKbh”]In an interview with Citi News, the Programs Manager for the National HIV control program Dr Stephen Ayisi Addo attributed the increase of prevalence rate to complacency among Ghanaians.”

“We have noticed that the prevalence rate among pregnant women is increasing this means there is something happening as far as new infections are concerned but if you take the general population is still 1.6. Amongst people who are high risk, like men who have sex with men, is over 17 percent.”

“Female sex workers, because of the nature of their work is about 6 percent. We noticed that the increase is about the fact that now people have become complacent thinking that HIV is no more formidable or it is not even there again and it is not serious but the issue is very serious.”

“We have also realized that condom utilization has also reduced significantly over the past 3 to 4 years and even with the female condoms it is not patronized at all and it’s also a reason for the increase.”

“Because of all these, we are introducing different initiatives as we want to intensify the provider initiative testing and counselling which will help us achieve the (9090) target. The first 90 is to make sure that about 90 people know their status and to do this you need to test the people but you can’t just be testing anybody so the attention Will be on people who are likely to be positive so that we get them on treatment,” he added.

Dr Stephen Ayisi then advised Ghanaians to visit health centres to know their status and seek early treatment and also prevent the further spread of the virus.
–

By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The deputy Chief of Missions of U.S. Embassy, Melinda Tabler Stone lauded government’s successful adoption of the “Treat All” policy, which allows all patients testing HIV positive to be enrolled on treatment right away when she paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour.

“Over the past decade, the U.S. government and the government of Ghana have partnered to improve the health of Ghanaians and the U.S.government is excited that the Ghana government has successfully adopted the “Treat All” policy in October 2016.”

“It is also exciting to see that the implementation of the new policy has been expanded from the four priority regions (Ashanti, Eastern, Greater Accra and Western ) where the disease burden is highest in the remaining six regions.”

She also promised continuous support from the U.S. government to help eradicate the endemic disease, “as Ghana gears up for the 2018- 2020 global fund implementation phase, PEPFAR Ghana stands ready to provide technical support to help guide the National HIV response on its path towards epidemic control by 2020.”

Mr. Darfour appealed for further support and collaboration to reach all with the education on HIV/AIDS most importantly in the rural communities as the prevalence rate among pregnant women is on the rise.
–

By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He was one of 18 people in a small trial testing injections of “broadly neutralising antibodies” – the natural weapons of the immune system.

They delayed the resurgence of the virus in other participants by around two weeks.

The findings are being presented at the ninth International Aids Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris.

The human body is inefficient at making antibodies that neutralise HIV.

Only one in five people infected with the virus develops them – and even then it takes many years and high levels of uncontrolled virus.

But more than 200 broadly neutralising antibodies have been documented, which doctors hope could be useful for both preventing and treating HIV.

Antibody infusion

The trial in Thailand, led by the US Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), took people who were controlling their infection with their standard HIV medication.

Some were given no treatment and others had an infusion of the antibody – codenamed VRC01 – into their bloodstream.

Inevitably the virus came back in those getting no treatment. It took an average (median) of 14 days, at which point they were put back on antiretroviral therapy.

In those receiving the antibody it took 26 days.

Dr Jintanat Ananworanich, one of the MHRP scientists, said there was also the exceptional case.

She told the BBC News website: “[The patient] has been off treatment for around 10 months and has so far controlled the virus to very low levels.”

He had the antibody infusion every three weeks for six months.

The field is still at an incredibly early stage, but the results point to the potential of antibody-based therapies.

Dr Ananworanich added: “It suggests there’s some impact from the antibody, but how the antibody actually impacts the virus and the immune system – that’s an on-going investigation.

“I do think antibody therapy has potential because the antibody, in the future, could perhaps be given just two or three times a year.”

–

Source: BBC

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A nine-year-old infected with HIV at birth has spent most of their life without needing any treatment, say doctors in South Africa.

The child, whose identity is being protected, was given a burst of treatment shortly after birth.

They have since been off drugs for eight-and-a-half years without symptoms or signs of active virus.

The family is said to be “really delighted”.

Most people need treatment every day to prevent HIV destroying the immune system and causing Aids.

Understanding how the child is protected could lead to new drugs or a vaccine for stopping HIV.

The child caught the infection from their mother around the time of birth in 2007. They had very high levels of HIV in the blood.

Early antiretroviral therapy was not standard practice at the time, but was given to the child from nine weeks old as part of a clinical trial.

Levels of the virus became undetectable, treatment was stopped after 40 weeks and unlike anybody else on the study – the virus has not returned.

Early therapy which attacks the virus before it has a chance to fully establish itself has been implicated in child “cure” cases twice before.

The “Mississippi Baby” was put on treatment within 30 hours of birth and went 27 months without treatment before HIV re-emerged in her blood.

There was also a case in France with a patient who has now gone more than 11 years without drugs.

Dr Avy Violari, the head of paediatric research at the Perinal HIV Research Unit in Johannesburg, said: “We don’t believe that antiretroviral therapy alone can lead to remission.

“We don’t really know what’s the reason why this child has achieved remission – we believe it’s either genetic or immune system-related.”

‘Virtual cure’

Some people are naturally better at dealing with an HIV infection – so-called “elite controllers”. However, whatever the child has is different to anything that has been seen before.

Replicating it as a new form of therapy – a drug, antibody or vaccine – would have the potential to help other patients.

It is worth noting that while there is no active HIV in the child’s body, the virus has been detected in the child’s immune cells.

HIV can hide inside them – called latent HIV – for long periods of time, so there is still a danger the child could need drug treatment in the future.

The team in Johannesburg performed the study alongside the UK’s MRC Clinical Trials Unit.

‘One child’

Prof Diana Gibbs, who is based in London, told the BBC News website: “It captures the imagination because you’ve got a virtual cure and it is exciting to see cases like this.

“But it is important to remember it is one child.

“HIV is still a massive problem around the world and we mustn’t put all our eyes on to one phenomenon like this, as opposed to looking at the bigger issues for Africa.”

Worldwide, 36.7 million people are living with HIV and only 53% of them are receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: “Further study is needed to learn how to induce long-term HIV remission in infected babies.

“However, this new case strengthens our hope that by treating HIV-infected children for a brief period beginning in infancy, we may be able to spare them the burden of lifelong therapy and the health consequences of long-term immune activation typically associated with HIV disease.”

The results are being presented at the IAS Conference on HIV Science.

–

Source: BBC

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