Tenfold surge in South Africa teens treated for HIV, study finds

PARIS, France — The number of young people in South Africa receiving treatment for HIV has increased tenfold within a decade, a major new study finds.

South Africa has the largest number of HIV-positive people in the world, with around 7.2 million carrying the virus, which causes AIDS.

Researchers studied more than 700,000 young people receiving treatment for the infection and found 10 times the number of adolescents aged 15-19 being treated compared with 2010.

Authors of the study, published in The Lancet HIV journal, attribute the rise partly to the success of AIDS prevention programs that result in better detection and treatment rates.

However, they find that fewer than 50 percent of young South Africans who present for HIV care go on to initiate antiretroviral therapy, which can prevent transmission and stops a patient developing AIDS.

“Despite the upswing in numbers initiating therapy, barriers persist that prevent many adolescents from starting treatment,” said Mhairi Maskew from the University of Witwatersrand and the report’s lead author.

These include concerns about stigma, a pervasive sense that clinics cannot guarantee patient confidentiality and increased domestic responsibilities for young people, especially in families where children have lost parents to HIV and AIDS.

— AFP