POLOKWANE – As I am writing this, I am attending the 11th South African Aids conference in Durban.
Long gone are the days of the Treatment Action Campaign disrupting the proceedings due to the government’s inability to provide life-saving medicine to the people of South Africa.
Good treatment is available to all South Africans from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Even the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Act, Connect and End the Epidemic’, which is sounding the death knell to the disease. But as with many things, 2020 happened.
Progress made by South African scientists, healthcare workers and activists were brought to a standstill when the Coronavirus swept across the world.
Continuation of treatment was disrupted, healthcare professionals were preoccupied and overworked to give any thought to the “normal” chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes and HIV.
But despite all the bad news, there is a commitment to return to pre-Covid progress.
One of the most important messages that have come out of the conference is the idea that an undetectable viral load is untransmittable (U=U).
The viral load of a person living with HIV is one of the measurements that is used to determine the progression of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment.
Several studies since 2016 have indicated that if the viral load is not picked up in the blood, it will not be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
This does not mean that the individual is now HIV negative, but it will mean that he or she will not be able to pass on the virus.
My patients often ask about an HIV cure or vaccine. When we stop the virus from spreading around, it is effectively attaining the same outcome as a very efficient vaccine.
Spreading the message of U=U will be critical to the success of this initiative, but it will also rely on individuals taking their treatment as prescribed.
Reaching an undetectable viral level is not (like one presenter said) “a matric certificate” that you can flaunt and never think about again. It is an ongoing journey together with your health care provider.
Furthermore it is also not a free pass to ignore the other tenets of HIV (the ABC of Abstaining, Being Faithful and Condomising).
These things are still critical to prevent other sexually transmissible diseases.
The other day I saw someone mentioning that the people of South Africa liberated themselves.
When it comes to HIV, the conference taught me that the people of South Africa have to do likewise to rid the country of the scourge of this disease.
Phambili, Mzanzi! Phambili!
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