Fifty people in Botswana get infected daily - BOTUSA

MOSAH MOKGANEDI
Correspondent | Friday February 6, 2009 00:00

Speaking at a BOTUSA workshop under the theme 'New Directions in HIV/AIDS,' Dr Poloko Kebaabetswe of BOTUSA said yesterday that of this number the most affected are people aged between 18 and 39 years.

Dr Kebaabetswe expressed concern that the number is too high, considering Botswana's small population of about 1.8 million people. 'We cannot be talking about 50 people getting infected everyday when we have such a small population.

We desperately need new ways of addressing the HIV issue in Botswana,' she said. Dr Kebaabetswe said in one of their many efforts to fight the scourge BOTUSA is currently carrying out a TDF2 study to determine if the pill Truvada can be used as a pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV.

She stated that the study has been split into two categories and that other participants are given placebo while others are given the real pill (Truvada).

She added that pre-exposure prophylaxis has been found to be effective in cases of malaria.

The study that started in 2007 in Gaborone and Francistown was initially scheduled to run up to next year but Dr Kebaabetswe said because of hiccups the study will be extended to 2011.

The organisation is looking at recruiting 1,200 people for the study but that has not been possible.

Dr Kebaabetswe said so far they have only managed to recruit about half of the number so BOTUSA is appealing to Batswana to volunteer to take part in the study.

People wishing to participate should be sexually active, be Batswana aged between 18-39 years, and be HIV negative.

Dr Kebaabetswe said they are faced with a lot of challenges in conducting the study.

She said they are dealing with young people who are highly mobile because of other commitments of life.

That has resulted in some participants dropping out along the way. Truvada is said to be more effective in preventing infections similar to HIV in animals. The TDF 2 study is also currently underway in the United States of America (US), Thailand, Kenya and Uganda.