Redi Tlhabi meets Winnie Byanyima: Ending AIDS, fighting inequality, reclaiming power
The UNAids Global Aids Update 2025, launched on 10 July, shows 'remarkable achievements' in the worldwide effort to combat HIV/Aids. However, because of the cut in USAid funding, there could be an additional six million HIV infections and an additional four million Aids-related deaths by 2029.
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The Citizen
13 hours ago
- The Citizen
DWS to probe presence of ARVs in water after university study
DWS to probe presence of ARVs in water after university study The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says it will engage the North West University (NWU) on the study findings of traces of anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines in water resources. The research was conducted by the NWU's Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management and the Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research. It found that ARVs appear to be entering water resources through municipal wastewater treatment systems, which were usually not designed to remove such chemicals. The report titled, 'Quantification, fate, and hazard assessment of HIV-ARVs in water resources', revealed significant concentrations of ARVs in water sources, particularly downstream of wastewater treatment plants. The drugs most frequently detected were lopinavir and efavirenz, with concentrations at some sites far exceeding global norms. According to the study, this is attributed to South Africa's large-scale HIV treatment programme, the most extensive of its kind worldwide. The research highlighted alarming effects on aquatic ecosystems and wastewater management systems. Freshwater snails exposed to ARVs exhibited altered embryonic development, while bacteriophages – viruses critical to controlling bacteria in wastewater treatment – were significantly impacted. 'Such disruptions could lead to bacterial bloom and reduced water quality. The consumption of any type of exogenous drug by any organism in sufficient quantities may intervene with the regulation of metabolic systems and bring about adverse effects. The presence of antiretrovirals in water can be considered a hidden or latent risk,' the report noted. The report was submitted to the Water Research Commission (WRC). The DWS said it will engage the university on its findings and potential impacts. 'This will be done in conjunction with the Water Research Commission and the Department of Health,' the department said in a statement on Wednesday. – At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
13 hours ago
- The Citizen
SA's water contaminated with microplastics, chemicals and ARVs
The grim details were revealed in several studies commissioned since the year 2000. South Africa's water resources and drinking water have been contaminated with microplastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and anti-retrovirals (ARVs) that could pose risks to human health and the environment. The grim details were revealed in several studies commissioned since the year 2000 by the Water Research Commission (WRC), an entity of the department of water and sanitation (DWS), along with local and international research organisations. Studies The studies were commissioned to probe the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in water resources and drinking water. One of the studies related to anti-retrovirals (ARVs) was undertaken by the University of North West. ARVs The study found traces of ARVs in samples taken from rivers and potable water sources. South Africa has rolled out a massive programme to curb HIV and Aids, including access to ARVs to reduce the risk of the onset of Aids. In a statement, water and sanitation department spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said that traces of ARVs are entering municipal sewage systems and passing through these systems into rivers. 'This can be attributed to the pharmacological process where the active part of the medication is absorbed by the body, leaving the residual to be discharged from the body, subsequently finding its way into the sewage system. 'These traces of ARVs can then also be present in water that has been extracted from rivers by municipalities to be treated and supplied as potable water,' Mavasa said. ALSO READ: Rand Water rubbishes claims of 'poisoned' Vaal Dam water Water quality Mavasa said the key quality risks to human health of a biological and microbiological nature are 'well understood and regulated in South Africa'. 'The traces of pharmaceuticals, microplastics and other such CECs that have been found in water resources in South Africa are very small, measured in nanograms (one billionth of a gram). Conventional water and wastewater treatment technologies are designed to remove much larger contaminants such as particles of faeces and bacteria.' The study, commissioned by the WRC and carried out by North West University, found that: Almost all the concentrations in drinking water samples at the test sites were below limits of quantification. The most frequently detected compound was fluconazole (28 detections from 72 samples), with concentrations ranging between 0.06-1.8 μg/L (nanograms per litre) Nevirapine and efavirenz were the second most detected compounds, both with 22 detections out of 72 samples However, on average, lopinavir and efavirenz had the highest concentrations of the compounds analysed, while Didanosine and zidovudine were the least detected compounds (2 and 6 detections out of 72 samples). Waste Mavasa added that higher concentrations of traces of ARVs were found downstream of wastewater treatment plants. 'This means that the municipal wastewater treatment works are not removing them, because most existing wastewater treatment works have not been designed to remove CECs. Low concentrations of ARVs were found in some of the drinking water samples. 'There is a possibility that high concentrations of ARVs in sewage or municipal wastewater might reduce the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment works in removing bacteria from the wastewater. Further research is required in this regard,' Mavasa said. ALSO READ: Joburg Water warns Phumlamqashi it will not reconnect illegal connections Drinking water Mavasa said that while the presence of ARV residues in drinking water is harmless, prolonged exposure to the broader population may lead to antimicrobial resistance, a subject of ongoing research. 'Pharmaceuticals such as ARVs are drugs used to treat diseases – they do not cause diseases. Therefore, the presence of traces of ARVs in the water will not result in people contracting HIV. 'At present, there is limited knowledge of environmental toxicity, potential adverse effects on ecosystems and viral resistance of these compounds. The study did not find any ARVs in fish,' Mavasa said. No regulation Mavasa said while CECs is a growing global problem and area of attention around the world, globally the level of CEC compounds in water is generally not yet regulated which is partly due to their presence often being below quality detection limits. 'However, due to their continuous production, lack of appropriate disposal, constant input into the environment and presence in water resources, albeit in small concentrations, there is now increasing global research into the issue.' Mavasa said development of methods and techniques to accurately trace these elements in water is one of the key focus areas of global research, adding that research is also being done on effective methods of treatment of the problem, including advanced membrane systems. ALSO READ: Water crisis deepens: 13% of SA's water now unsafe to drink
eNCA
18 hours ago
- eNCA
In rural Canadian town, new risk of measles deepens vaccine tensions
AYLMER - In the Canadian town of Aylmer, where Mennonites in traditional dress walk down the main street alongside secular locals, bitter divisions over vaccine skepticism that arose during Covid have intensified with the reemergence of measles. Canada, which officially eradicated measles in 1998, has registered over 3,500 cases this year and the United States is confronting its worst measles epidemic in 30 years, with the UN warning of the global risk as misinformation and lack of funding impact vaccination rates. Different communities in Canada have been hit, but experts link the brunt of the outbreak to anti-vaccine Anabaptist groups in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta. Growing up in Aylmer, a bucolic town surrounded by farmland in southwestern Ontario, Brett Hueston said he didn't give much thought to the differing world views among the town's religious and secular residents. That changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. "I grew up, perhaps naively, thinking that we were all sort of on the same page as a community," said Hueston, whose family publishes the 145-year-old local paper, the Aylmer Express. "Covid really exploited whatever differences there were," he told AFP. Aylmer was a pandemic flashpoint. The town has 13 churches, a substantial number given its roughly 8,000 population. A major congregation -- the Aylmer Church of God that sits on an expansive, well-manicured grounds -- enthusiastically defied some lockdown restrictions. The church's pastor, Henry Hildebrandt, tried to challenge the rules in the supreme court, before agreeing in 2022 to pay a CAN$65,000 ($47,400) fine for gathering people to worship. Hildebrandt said he admitted "to one count of obeying God rather than man," asserting that he had knowingly broken the law. Hueston said "when measles came up, I thought, I know where this is going." AFP | Geoff Robins "Everybody thinks... Mennonites are (all) anti-vaxers. It certainly isn't the case, but there's certainly a conservative part of this end of the county that is strongly anti-vaxer, and I don't quite understand it," he told AFP. - 'Difficult to watch' - Michelle Barton heads the infectious diseases division at the Children's Hospital at the London Health Sciences Center, southwestern Ontario's main referral hospital. She's seen some of the most serious pediatric measles cases this year and told AFP observing the recurrence of a once eradicated virus has been "difficult to watch." She noted that not every case can be tied to unvaccinated Mennonites. Infections have also occurred among new immigrants from the developing world who, for various reasons, did not keep up with immunisations after settling in Canada, including due to an acute family doctor shortage. Barton said it was long clear "pockets of unvaccinated people" made the region vulnerable to measles. She recounted a range of attitudes towards vaccines among Mennonite families. Some mothers, when confronted with how sick their children had become, voiced openness to vaccinating their other children, only to back away, fearing consequences from their husband or pastor, Barton told AFP. "They don't want to go against the grain of their culture, and they don't want to go against the (church) elders," she said. She also voiced sympathy for a Mennonite community that faced "resentment" from some healthcare workers, who at times displayed frustration over having to respond to an entirely preventable outbreak. Barton said she hoped the relationships forged between medical staff and vaccine-skeptical families could improve acceptance, and she encouraged public health officials to persist in trying to bring church leaders on board. - 'Wall of lies' - AFP | Geoff Robins For Alon Vaisman, an infectious diseases doctor at Ontario's University Health Network, officials must keep trying, regardless of opposition. "From a public health perspective, we ought not to accept anything to be insurmountable when it comes to vaccine campaigns." Child vaccination rates remain below where they need to be, making another viral outbreak, including measles, possible, Vaisman said. "There really needs to be more of an effort," he told AFP, conceding the difficulty of finding a successful path forward. "You're fighting against the wall of disinformation and lies," he said. by Ben Simon
