HIV risk exposure among South African children in public health facilities

The study investigates the risk exposure to HIV infection among South African children aged 2-9 years served by public health services. Together with their biological mothers, 3471 children and were recruited from inpatient and outpatient children in the Free State Province. Blood samples were taken by professional nurses and a history taken of exposure factors associated with HIV transmission. DNA testing was used to confirm biological maternity where the child was HIV-positive and the mother HIV-negative. Mother-child pairs were stratified by mother's HIV status. Exposure factors related to the child's HIV status were examined in each stratum using a chi-square test. Independent factors were then included in a multiple logistic regression model. Having an HIV-positive mother was strongly related to HIV infection in children (OR: 310; 95%CI: 148-781). However, seven HIV-positive children had HIV-negative mothers. Transmission in this group was significantly associated with breastfeeding by a non-biological mother (OR: 437; 95%CI: 53-5020), being fed with expressed breast milk from a milk room (OR: 37.6; 95%CI: 6.2-259.0), dental injection history (OR: 31.5; 95%CI: 4.5-189.4) and visits to a dentist (OR: 26.9; 95%CI: 4.4-283.5). Although mother-to-child-transmission is shown to be the primary mode of HIV transmission in South African children, the few HIV-positive children infected by other modes of transmission suggest a potential risk of non-vertical HIV infections. These infections can be prevented through education and improved infection-control procedures.

Social determinants for HIV prevalence among South African educators

HIV prevalence among women in South Africa continues to be high despite the availability of a comprehensive plan for the control of HIV/AIDS and a plethora of prevention programmes. Any explanation for the ongoing high HIV prevalence continues to be elusive. The objective of this study was to understand the relationship between HIV, gender, race and socioeconomic status among South African public sector educators in order to inform prevention programmes. A cross-sectional survey involving a probability sample of 1,766 schools out of 26,713 in the Department of Education Register of School Needs was selected. A sample of 24,200 respondents out of 356,749 public sector educators participated in the study. Nurses registered with the South African Nursing Council were recruited, trained to conduct interviews and to collect specimens for HIV testing. The study found an association between HIV, gender, race and socioeconomic status among educators. African educators showed a higher HIV prevalence than other race groups. Among females, the highest HIV prevalence was among educators aged 25-35 years and in males aged 36-49 years. Further, educators with a high income and educational qualifications had a lower HIV prevalence compared to educators with low income and low educational qualifications, regardless of sex. Migration and marital factors were also found to play a role in HIV infection. The results suggest that HIV prevention needs to take into account critical issues around empowerment of vulnerable groups such as women and certain race groups to be able to implement safe sexual practices and therefore reduce HIV infections.

[Argon laser trabeculoplasty--the possibility for antiglaucoma treatment]

The current role of argon laser trabeculoplasty in the treatment of open angle glaucoma is still open discussion. To evaluate the effectiveness of ALT we performed a study on 36 patients followed for 2 years. We noted a success rate of 61.11% after 2 years and noticed that the success rate decreased in time. ALT should be considered as an intermediate therapy in the management of open angle glaucoma, after drug therapy has failed and before filtering surgery is performed.