Research of Children’s Adherence on Drug Intake in Cape Town

Children from Khayelitsha, Cape Town managed to suppress their viral load in half a by setting adherence to protease inhibitors. Researchers presented the results of the study at South African National AIDS Conference last week. The researchers achieved more than 80 percent of patients with undetectable viral load by changes in therapy if needed, clinical care and supporting groups.

For a long time it was thought that paediatric patients did not suppress in a timely fashion, [however] we found differing data. If a child goes to stay with someone else who doesn’t even know they are HIV-positive, the child is not going to get ARVs” commented Dr Jonathan Bernheimer, from Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the authors of the research.

There were 174 kids in the study, aged from zero to twelve, only one of the children who took part in the study wasn't infected at birth. Most of the patients hadn’t good adherence on drug intake. Good results of viral load depends on age, as the scientists see the majority of patients till the age of ten reached undetectable viral load, while only 73 percent reached the undetectable viral load by the patients till 19 years old.