Vaccines protect us from serious illnesses like mumps, polio and rubella. These diseases, which used to be harmful, are today are no longer a threat in situations where child vaccinations are routine. However, an HIV vaccine remains elusive. The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) is conducting HIV vaccine trials in the hope that one day…
Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne bacterium that infects the lungs and can be fatal if left untreated. Therefore, HIV-infected people who are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis are particularly susceptible to develop TB disease due to their weakened immune system, and in countries with high TB and HIV prevalence co-infection is common. 35% of HIV-related deaths…
We live in an age of incredible luxury. Many people today have never encountered diseases that were once rampant and harmful – all thanks to vaccinations. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to life-saving immunisation due to their remote living conditions or socio-governmental situations. Moreover, some people opt not to vaccinate themselves or their children, even…
This week is not only National Nurses Week but also Mental Health Awareness Week, ending on Friday 12th which falls on Florence Nightingale’s birthday. It’s the perfect time to thank the nurses and caregivers in your life and to pay special attention to how to care for your caregivers. Many nurses go through their healthcare…
What is PrEP PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. It is a daily drug that can be taken by people who don’t have HIV to prevent them from being infected with the virus. It can prevent HIV infection even if the virus enters the body through an exchange of sexual fluids or from an injection. There…
With its signature rainbow banner, the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation’s mobile fleet (Tutu Tester, Tutu Teen Truck, and Tutu Kwik Testers) bring essential healthcare services straight to communities in Cape Town where levels of HIV are high, but levels of treatment are low. In fact, around a fifth of South Africans between 15-49 have HIV.…
Anti Retrovirals (ARVs) suppresses HIV, so if we have a way to manage HIV, why do we need a cure? Less than half of people living with HIV are on treatment. This means that over half of HIV positive people are not on any treatment. With over 2.1 million new HIV infections globally in the year…
The goal for all infectious diseases is to find a drug that can quickly eradicate the infecting pathogen, such as anti-biotics, or a vaccine that can prevent the infections from ever taking root in the body. For HIV, we do not yet have either of these options available as current drugs used for treatment are…
Whilst there isn’t yet a cure for HIV, the virus can go into ‘remission’. This is where the virus is suppressed for a short time by the immune system without the need for antiretrovirals (ARVs). This period of time could be months or years. The majority of people do not undergo remission and for those…
Whilst a person living with HIV can suppress the virus with antiretrovirals, there is no cure. A cure for HIV would be the total eradication of the virus from the body. However, this is not the only option that scientists are looking into. Here are some of the strategies scientists are looking into for an HIV…