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South
Africa Health Officials and Activists Stand by AIDS Drug Nevirapine
By
James Macharia
Health officials and activists fighting
AIDS in South Africa on Thursday stood by a key drug, nevirapine
[Viramune], the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
warned a day earlier could cause liver damage.
The
FDA warning is particularly sensitive in South
Africa, which has the world's highest caseload of HIV
infections with some 5 million people infected out of a population
of 45 million. Activists estimate 600 people die daily from HIV/AIDS.
"Any fundamental change in the
policy [to use nevirapine] will be determined by compelling evidence
scientifically supported by the WHO (World Health Organization),"
said Solly Mabotha, a spokesperson at the Department of Health,
which oversees the antiretroviral (ARV) treatment program.
Mabotha said the department is working
with research institutions to fully understand nevirapine's adverse
effects.
Nevirapine is the generic name for
Viramune, made by Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim, and is distributed
in African countries as part of President Bush's effort to fight
the spread of AIDS.
It is one of the drugs used in combination
regimens that can suppress HIV and it is used on a short-term basis
in HIV-positive pregnant
women to prevent vertical transmission.
South Africa's ruling African National
Congress sparked a controversy last month after it accused U.S.
officials of conspiring with Boehringer to hide the side effects
of nevirapine. U.S. health officials disputed the charge.
In its warning issued on Wednesday,
the FDA asked doctors to weigh benefits and risks before prescribing
nevirapine.
Boehringer said the FDA warning would
not stop it from offering Viramune free of charge to prevent mother-to-child
transmission of HIV in poor countries.
"Doctors specializing in HIV were
aware of liver toxicity issues and we do not expect any major change
in treatment including nevirapine," a company spokeswoman said.
Activists said they had little choice
for now.
"As consumers we cannot say we
are going to stop until the body that controls nevirapine in the
country says so, by which time there may be a better alternative,"
said Thanduxolo Doro, a spokesman for South Africa's National Association
of People with AIDS (NAPWA).
Zackie Achmat, who heads South Africa's
leading AIDS lobby, the Treatment Action Campaign, and is himself
on antiretroviral treatment, said the FDA's findings were not new.
All ARVs were known to have side effects, including liver damage,
he said.
01/21/05
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