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Many participants during my pre-test counselling ask the fundamental question, “What happens if I test positive for HIV?” My answers are limited. These limitations stem from the lack of options available for HIV seropositive patients in developing countries. HIV control efforts in Africa have centered on prevention since the beginning of the pandemic. Despite various drawbacks, prevention efforts have been not only effective but also cost effective. Introduction of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) has been an important complimentary strategy to prevention. Availability of effective treatment motivates people to come forward for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) knowing that a positive test is the beginning of effective therapy. VCT promotes behavioral change for both HIV seropositive and seronegative patients. During epidemiological research of routine VCT, advising those in post-test counselling who test HIV seronegative to practice safe behavior that will help prevent HIV transmission is relatively easy. However, for seropositive patients, the counselling demands more than suggestions on behavioral change. These patients put great faith in researchers’/counselors’ ideas on how to manage the viruses already in their bodies. Poor antiretroviral (ARV) roll-out renders many of these suggestions useless, particularly in rural areas in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of ARVs results in dilemmas during post-test counselling in population surveys in Africa. In the early years of the HIV epidemic, the options were also limited, but this lack of options was less psychologically challenging for patients due to their knowledge that ARVs were not available in Tanzania.

Palabras clave: HIV Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).

2007-11-06   |   881 visitas   |   1 valoraciones

Vol. 1 Núm.2. Octubre 2007 Pags. 84-86 J Infect Developing Countries 2007; 1(2)