SPEAK OUT

HIV
HIV & Syphillis, SA Department of Health, 11 July 2005
Date: 11/07/2005
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Health publishes national report on HIV & Syphilis survey

The Department of Health has published the report on the National HIV and Syphilis Antenatal Sero-prevalence Survey in South Africa for 2004.

The primary objective of the antenatal survey was to provide information on HIV and syphilis prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal care in the public sector.
Other objectives were to:

* Describe HIV and syphilis trends in terms of age and provincial spread
* And determine an estimate of HIV infection in the general population through modelling

Blood samples were collected amongst women attending antenatal care at selected sites in all provinces. The specimens were tested for HIV and syphilis at participating laboratories. External quality control for prevalence testing was conducted by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in the case of HIV and by the Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa) for syphilis.

The Department applied a model for estimating the number of HIV infected people in the general SA population based on the outcomes of the survey. Certain assumptions are made to estimate the prevalence in the general population. These include assumptions that:

* HIV prevalence rate in all women aged 15 - 49 years is the same as prevalence amongst pregnant women
* Estimate of males infected is equal to 85% of infected females
* The mother to child transmission is at 30% (this does not factor in the effect of interventions to reduce this type of transmission)

The overall antenatal survey methodology is recommended by the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS.

HIV prevalence amongst pregnant women was estimated at 29.5% in 2004 compared to 27.9% in 2003. The increases vary from province to province while three provinces - Free State, Mpumalanga and North-West - recorded a slightly lower prevalence compared to 2003.

HIV infection was higher among women in the late twenties and early thirties and lower among teenagers. These findings indicate that while we sustain prevention intervention focused on the youth, we need to investigate and address the factors behind an increase in the ages 25 - 34 years. This includes accumulative effects of younger infected women growing to older age groups and the fact that the majority of women begin to have children at this stage.

Syphilis prevalence continues to decline in all age groups suggesting that prevention and treatment interventions against Sexually Transmitted Infections are effective.

The report estimates the total number of HIV positive individuals at the end of 2004 to be between 6.29 million and 6.57 million in the general population.

The report highlights the challenges posed by HIV infection and the need to continue to promote safe sexual behaviour. Government has responded by increasing the budget for the response to HIV and AIDS by 45% in the current financial year (from R782 million in 2004/05 to R1.135 billion this year).

After achieving the target of having at least one services point for HIV and AIDS related treatment including antiretroviral therapy in all 53 districts by March 2005, the Department is proceeding to cover all 231 local municipalities. A total of 143 health facilities were providing AIDS related treatment including ART by June 2005.