HIV death rate on the rise in Randfontein
People are apparently not returning to take their treatment after having been diagnosed with HIV.
The HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) death rate is said to be on the rise in Randfontein owing to the number of HIV positive people who have abandoned their treatment.
This is according to the Randfontein Local Municipality MMC for Health and Social Services Thembi Matuwane who says that this is also influenced by people who do not return to take treatment after finding out their HIV statuses.
“The reality of the matter is that some people do not seem to be taking HIV seriously and this worries us in more ways than one.
“It has come to our attention through our records that out of all the people who test for HIV and are found to be positive, only little of them return for treatment when required and this is cause for concern.
“Another disturbing issue is the fact that those who test once and were found to be HIV negative hardly return to test after the three months long window period elapses. This tells that they automatically assume that they are HIV negative which isn’t always the case,” says Matuwane.
She adds that this has resulted in her department partnering with the Department of Health and other relevant authorities to embark on a string of awareness campaigns with regard to the dangers of abandoning treatment among other pertinent issues.
“We will be having numerous awareness campaigns which will be communicated through the media and we hope that people will show up in their numbers.
“We believe that early detection and treatment prolongs life and that’s what we want to see,” says Matuwane.
