New HIV study into infection changes to start in KZN
A new multi-year HIV study that will look at changes in new HIV infections is set to begin next month in KwaZulu-Natal.
Scientists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal are collaborating with colleagues from Stellenbosch University and several other international institutions.
They've been awarded a R40 million grant by the U.S National Institutes of Health for the research.
The multi-year study is called "The Changing Face of HIV in the Era of COVID-19".
It's been described as cutting-edge.
Professor Frank Tanser is a member of the Durban-based Africa Health Research Institute and is associated with both UKZN and Stellenbosch universities.
He is the study's principal investigator and says they will be monitoring new HIV infections to be able to adopt the appropriate strategies.
"So, what this grant will help us to deal with in the next five years is to identify new vulnerable populations that are going to emerge; and to design intervention strategies to maximise the reduction in new HIV infections in those vulnerable populations.
"One of the reasons HIV is changing is that during Covid there were a lot of issues of drug supply and treatment. So, we don't know the extent to which that has impacted on the epidemic.
"And also, some new potent antiretroviral medications are likely to reduce HIV infections further, but no one really knows."
