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'Serious mistake' to dismiss swine flu
 
INFECTIOUS disease experts have warned health professionals that it would be a "serious mistake" to dismiss swine flu because of the relatively low impact the virus had last year. Professor John Oxford, virologist and chair of the Global Hygiene Council, said the H1N1 virus has "a sting its tail". He said it would not go away and the question was what would it do next? Oxford was speaking at the fifth annual meeting of the Global Hygiene Council, being held in Johannesburg this week. The Global Hygiene Council was formed in 2006 to monitor infection threats and is made up of experts in hygiene-related fields such as virology, infectious disease and public health. The British specialist, who has authored well-known virology texts, predicted another outbreak of swine flu this year. He said there is a "high likelihood" that H1N1 will dominate over this coming flu season, and warned that young people would be most at risk. Professor Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), said there was a misconception in South Africa that tourists would bring infectious diseases like swine flu with them. He said SA would be in the throes of its flu season; we would be infecting them rather than them infecting us. The NICD has recommended that those coming into the country over that period consult with their doctors to decide whether they need the flu vaccine. The British government has also recommended that United Kingdom citizens travelling to South Africa for the World Cup get vaccinated against the flu. Schoub rejected allegations that there is a shortage of flu vaccine in the country, saying there was currently more flu vaccine in the country than ever before. Earlier this year, the Health Department said it had acquired more than four million doses of the H1N1 vaccine in preparation for a national immunisation campaign. Instead, Schoub said, there was a "maldistribution of the vaccine", with most of the vaccines saved for high-risk groups targeted by a massive immunisation campaign. The campaign, which runs until the end of May, targets frontline healthcare workers, children under the age of 15 who have HIV/Aids, pregnant women and patients attending specialist heart and lung clinics. Schoub said that there had been a shortage in the private sector but it would eventually be addressed, adding that there was "ample vaccine" for the targeted groups and that excess doses would be released to the private sector when the campaign ended. But the experts warned that vaccination should not be seen as the only line of defence against swine flu. Oxford pointed out that even with the vaccine, or with taking medication to alleviate symptoms, people could still contract and pass on the virus. Good hygiene practice was still needed, he said.
 
Faranaaz Parker: Mail & Guardian, 12 May 2010

SA gets positive about HIV

THE mood in South Africa is upbeat, but not just about the forthcoming Fifa World Cup. It is also about the way the country is responding to AIDS. The government and civil society groups are talking and working together. Academics and activists are engaging in evidence-informed discussions with officials to make the right choices about HIV programmes. The government has shown its seriousness by investing more than $1billion (R7.3billion) in the AIDS response this year. People can feel the difference. The international community can feel the difference. There is fresh enthusiasm to act and to save lives. Truly, South Africa is showing leadership and taking responsibility. I believe that South Africa can break the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic - in Africa and globally. It is also its duty. It owes it to its citizens that no child is born with HIV, that mothers do not die for lack of access to healthcare during childbirth, that girls and women fully contribute in society with their heads held high, without fearing violence, and that all people living with HIV have access to treatment when they need it. A starting point is testing and counselling for HIV. HIV testing by itself is not going to stop HIV transmission or treat people living with HIV. But it is a necessary first step. It can break the logjam in starting difficult conversations around HIV treatment and prevention. Such conversations are necessary to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This is why the country's new campaign to test nearly 15-million people for HIV by 2011 is courageous and must succeed. And the international community should do all it can to support this effort. The benefits are very clear for treatment access. Early detection of HIV helps individuals make the right choices for looking after their health. The health system can prepare itself to provide ongoing care and, eventually, treatment for all people living with HIV. Welfare and other development issues can be planned and managed to mitigate impact. But the real advantage is for families and communities. They can begin talking about HIV - between couples, parents and children, elders and peers, and between friends. Communities find different entry points for beginning a conversation around difficult issues. A national HIV testing and counselling effort can be South Africa's entry point to discuss issues of sexuality, violence against women, intergenerational sex, negotiating safer sex and stopping babies from becoming infected with HIV. It can be the start of the prevention revolution - getting to zero new infections. Testing and counselling millions of people for HIV may pose a logistical challenge. But it has been done before. During a six-month campaign in Tanzania, more than three million people were tested and counselled for HIV. In Malawi in 2008 nearly 200 000 people were tested in the course of just one week. Kenya and Uganda have conducted national door-to-door HIV testing campaigns. In Botswana there is near-universal testing and counselling for pregnant women. Lesotho, too, has for long championed the "Know your status" campaign. South Africa is building on these campaigns for an ambitious and achievable goal. Far too few South Africans know their HIV status. The new campaign aims to make it easy to find out. Cellphones will help people to find an HIV testing centre. Text messages can provide instant reminders. And game applications can assist in assessing an individual's risk for HIV. The country's rich tradition of social mobilisation is going to be tapped into at learning institutions such as schools, colleges and youth clubs. Places of worship - including churches, mosques and temples - as well as workplaces and entertainment spots will all be mobilised. Each point of contact is an opportunity to begin a conversation and move to action. By taking an HIV test, each South African can say: "I am responsible." By creating the right environment for access to testing and counselling and reducing stigma and discrimination, communities and health and social systems can say: "We are responsible." Knowing one's HIV status must be the beginning of a long process of engagement of the health and social sectors with individuals and families. This means we have to strengthen both these sectors. Citizens must be able to build anew their relationships and their confidence in the health system to protect and look after them. Communities must be able to bring back their age-old role of caring for their people - not just by providing commodities, but also by providing the moral leadership that protects human rights, especially those of women and children.

Michel Sidibé is the executive director of UNAIDS

Michel Sidibé: The Mail & Guardian, 15 April 2010

Nursing audit to be finalised

THE Health Department is finalising a comprehensive audit of public and private nursing colleges and schools in the country, including schools of nursing in higher education institutions, according to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi. In reply to a parliamentary question by Donald Lee of the DA, he said the findings would be available "after May 2010". The audit was intended to obtain a comprehensive picture of the status and condition of infrastructure at these facilities, the student nurse enrolment figures, the number of qualifications of nursing educators, as well as programmes offered by the institutions. The data would be used as a basis for developing a national nursing college revitalisation plan and to mobilise resources to revitalise the nursing colleges on a sustained basis, Motsoaledi said. Lee also wanted to know whether any new nursing colleges or previously closed colleges would be opened or reopened. Motsoaledi said an earlier announcement on reopening nursing colleges was one of the key drivers for developing interventions designed to increase the number of nurses in the country. He said it should be noted that the number of individual nursing colleges dropped over the years because of an amalgamation of small nursing colleges into multi-campuses, largely to strengthen their governance and administration. Most of the colleges therefore remained as campuses/sub-campuses after the amalgamation. For instance in Limpopo, the Gazankulu, Venda and Lebowa nursing colleges were amalgamated into the Limpopo Nursing College, based in Polokwane. Gazankulu (Giyani), Venda and Lebowa (Mankweng) remained as campuses of the college. In Limpopo two additional campuses had been established to serve the Sekhukhune and Waterberg districts. Altogether the campuses would have a student enrolment of 500 with the first students envisaged to be admitted in 2011. In the Eastern Cape two sub-campuses at Dora Nginza and Cacadu were in the process of being established to feed the Port Elizabeth campus under Lilitha College. The sub-campus would admit 40 students per intake three times a year. The first students were expected to be admitted in 2011. In the Western Cape a nursing campus in the Boland-Overberg was opened in 2008/09 under the Western Cape College of Nursing. Plans were under way to open another nursing campus in the Southern Cape Karoo this year. The student admission per campus was 80 to 100 per intake. In Mpumalanga processes were under way to open a new nursing campus under the Mpumalanga Nursing College at Marapyane in Nkangala district. It was expected that the campus would start operating in the 2010/11 financial year and would accommodate 50 students per intake. In Gauteng two nursing campuses had been opened under the Chris Hani Nursing College. The campuses had been admitting students from last year and their student capacity was 500 and 450 respectively.

SAPA, 21 April 2010

'Wholesome' out of favour soon

STARTING next March, just alluding to a product's supposed health benefits could land marketers in hot water. The Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuff Regulations go as far as banning words such as "wholesome" and "nutritious". The regulations, published at the beginning of March will only come into effect in the same month next year. This will give advertisers some time to adhere to stringent guidelines before making any claims. It will take some fancy footwork when even the word fresh will be scrutinised to determine if the advertiser can substantiate its use. Association for Communications and Advertising consul Piet Delport believes the new regulations will pose a challenge for creatives; as "many products might undergo rebranding or a major marketing overhaul". Brands already have a challenging time of communicating any health benefits they may have as health claims cannot be made under existing guidelines. Last year June the Consumer Goods Council initiated a change in the way children were marketed to. Following international trends, members of the food, beverage, retail and quick service restaurant companies decided that only advertising encouraging healthy dietary habits and physical activity would be targeted to children 12 years and younger. Promotions would be limited, as well as advertising close to schools. Promoting health credentials may be a major selling point but with increased rules around how to do this, brands find themselves in an increasingly tight spot.

Poloko Mofokeng: Fin24.com, 21 April 2010