SA talks on nevirapine 'soon'

2004-07-13 20:52

Johannesburg - The department of health says it will have to comply with the Medicines Control Council's recommendation that nevirapine no longer be used on its own to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/Aids.

"We will have to comply with the decision by the MCC. We are going to have a national consultative meeting immediately after the Bangkok conference," said spokesperson Sibani Mngadi on Tuesday. The 15th International Aids conference is underway in Thailand.

"I think the decision will be informed by our desire to reduce the transmission of mother-to-child transmission and to make sure that women and children get quality healthcare," said Mngadi.

This follows a statement by the council on Monday that the "risk-benefit profile" of nevirapine had changed and it was no longer recommended for use on its own.

TAC urges caution

The MCC said significant numbers of mothers and babies built up resistance to nevirapine when exposed to it as a monotherapy to reduce the risk of the child contracting HIV from its mother during birth.

Mngadi said that he had received no communication on whether use of the drug as a monotheraphy had been suspended until further notice.

A date had not yet been set for the meeting, but it would need to include experts involved in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

Treatment Action Campaign spokesperson Mark Heywood on Monday cautioned against the health department moving from monotherapy based on nevirapine to combination therapy before making sure the alternative was fully in place.

Despite its pitfalls, nevirapine reduced the infection rate of newborns from 30% to about 10%, meaning "a single dose of nevirapine or AZT was still better than (the alternative) nothing at all", despite the side effects.

- SAPA