Medics answer AIDS pill drug resistance charge
20 Dec 2004 16:35:03 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Frank Nyakairu
KAMPALA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A key anti-HIV/AIDS drug distributed in Africa causes drug resistance in pregnant women, but only if they ignore doctors' orders on how to take the pills, medical officials said on Monday.
The drug, nevirapine, is distributed as part of U.S. President George W. Bush's high-profile bid to fight the spread of the disease in Africa and help AIDS sufferers.
The announcement confirms in part media reports which suggested single doses of nevirapine, used to stop HIV-positive mothers passing the virus to their babies, could result in resistance to future treatment.
Uganda's Makerere University Medical School and two U.S. institutions issued a joint statement on Monday in a bid "to clarify the scientific facts, based on the full body of evidence".
They were the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the U.S.-based Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.