The association of peripheral immune markers with brain cortical thickness and surface area in South African people living with HIV

Despite increased access to highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in South Africa, there remains a high risk of people living with HIV (PLHIV) developing a wide range of disabilities. Physiotherapists are trained to rehabilitate individuals with the disabilities related to HIV. Not only can South African physiotherapists play a significant role in improving the lives of PLHIV, but by responding proactively to the HIV epidemic they can reinforce the relevance and value of the profession in this country at a time when many newly qualified therapists are unable to secure employment. This paper offers recommendations that may help to fuel this response. These ideas include enhancing HIV curricula at a tertiary level, designing and attending continuing education courses on HIV and researching Southern African rehabilitation interventions for HIV at all levels of practice. furthermore, it is vital that physiotherapists are at the forefront of directing multi-disciplinary responses to the rehabilitation of PLHIV in order to influence stakeholders who are responsible for health policy formulation. it is hoped that this paper stimulates discussion and further ideas amongst physiotherapists and other health professionals in order to improve the quality and access to care available to PLHIV in South Africa.

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“Not easy at all but I am trying”: barriers and facilitators to physical activity in a South African cohort of people living with HIV participating in a home-based pedometer walking programme

AIDS Care ◽

10.1080/09540121.2014.951309 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 235-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Ronel Roos ◽

Hellen Myezwa ◽

Helena van Aswegen

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

South African ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Home Based ◽

Living With Hiv ◽

Walking Programme

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Pain in clients attending a South African voluntary counselling and testing centre was frequent and extensive but did not depend on HIV status

10.1101/19001784 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Antonia L Wadley ◽

Erica Lazarus ◽

Glenda E Gray ◽

Duncan Mitchell ◽

Peter R Kamerman

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Hiv Status ◽

South Africans ◽

Voluntary Counselling ◽

Hopkins Symptom Checklist ◽

Voluntary Testing ◽

Living With Hiv ◽

Voluntary Counselling And Testing

AbstractBackgroundThe frequency of pain is reported to be high in people living with HIV (PLWH), but valid comparisons between PLWH and HIV-negative cohorts are rare. We investigated whether HIV infection influenced frequency and characteristics of pain in adults undergoing voluntary testing for HIV.MethodsParticipants were recruited from a HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centre at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto, South Africa. Pain was assessed using the Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire. Depressive and anxiety symptomatology was determined using the Hopkins Symptom checklist-25. We then stratified by HIV status.ResultsData from 535 black South Africans were analysed: HIV-infected n=70, HIV uninfected n=465. Overall, frequency of pain was high with 59% (95%CI: 55; 63, n: 316/535) of participants reporting pain, with no difference related to HIV status: HIV-infected 50% (95% CI: 37; 61, n: 35/70), HIV-uninfected 60% (95%CI: 56; 65, n: 281/465). Pain intensity and number of pain sites were similar between the groups as were symptoms of anxiety and depression: mean HSCL-25 1.72 (95% CI 1.57; 1.87) HIV-infected participants and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.63; 1.73) HIV-uninfected participants. Univariate analysis showed female sex and greater depressive and anxiety symptomatology associated with having pain. In a conservative multivariable model, only depressive and anxiety symptomatology was retained in the model.ConclusionThe high frequency of pain found in both HIV infected and uninfected individuals presenting at a VCT centre was more likely to be associated with depression and anxiety, than with the presence or absence of HIV.

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Prevalence and factors associated with physical function limitation in older West African people living with HIV

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0240906 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. e0240906

Author(s):

Charlotte Bernard ◽

Hélène Font ◽

Zélica Diallo ◽

Richard Ahonon ◽

Judicaël Malick Tine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Function ◽

West African ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Factors Associated ◽

African People ◽

Living With Hiv

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Immunogenicity of the Ad26.CoV2.S vaccine in people living with HIV

10.1101/2021.10.08.21264519 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Khadija Khan ◽

Gila Lustig ◽

Mallory Bernstein ◽

Derseree Archary ◽

Sandile Cele ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Neutralizing Antibodies ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Open Label ◽

Live Virus ◽

Neutralization Capacity ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Living With Hiv

Background People living with HIV (PLWH) have been reported to have an increased risk of more severe Covid-19 disease outcome and an increased risk of death relative to HIV-uninfected individuals. Here we assessed the ability of the Johnson and Johnson Ad26.CoV2.S vaccine to elicit neutralizing antibodies to the Delta variant in PLWH relative to HIV-uninfected individuals. Methods We enrolled 26 PLWH and 73 HIV-uninfected participants from the SISONKE phase 3b open label South African clinical trial of the Ad26.CoV2.S vaccine in health care workers (HCW) in a prospective observational cohort study. Enrollment was a median 56 days (range 19-98 days) post-vaccination. HCW PLWH had well suppressed HIV viremia. As a comparison, we also enrolled unvaccinated participants previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. This group consisted of 34 PLWH and 28 HIV-uninfected individuals. We used the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies and any previous record of SARS-CoV-2 infection to differentiate the vaccinated participants into participants who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and those not previously infected. Neutralization capacity was assessed using participant plasma in a live virus neutralization assay of the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant currently dominating infections in South Africa. This study was approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (reference BREC/00001275/2020). Findings Unvaccinated PLWH showed 6-fold reduced neutralization of the Delta variant relative to HIV-uninfected participants (GMT=105 for HIV-uninfected, 15 for PLWH, p=0.001). The majority (68%) of Ad26.CoV2.S vaccinated HCW were found to be previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. In this group, Delta variant neutralization was 9-fold higher compared to the infected only group (GMT of 306 versus 36) and 26-fold higher relative to the vaccinated only group (GMT=12). There was no significant difference in Delta variant neutralization in vaccinated and previously SARS-CoV-2 infected PLWH relative to vaccinated and previously SARS-CoV-2 infected, HIV-uninfected participants (GMT of 300 for PLWH versus 307 for HIV-uninfected). Vaccinated only participants showed a low neutralization of the Delta variant, with a stronger response in PLWH (GMT=73, for PLWH, 6 for HIV-uninfected, p=0.02). Interpretation While PLWH showed reduced neutralization of the Delta variant following SARS-CoV-2 infection, the neutralization response following Ad26.CoV2.S vaccination was not inferior to HIV-uninfected study participants. Funding South African Medical Research Council, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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The Impact of HIV/AIDS Regarding Informal Social Security: Issues and Perspectives from a South African Context

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2010/v13i3a2693 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 407

Author(s):

Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Social Security ◽

South African ◽

Social Impact ◽

Social Assistance ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Social Reciprocity ◽

Living With Hiv ◽

The Impact ◽

Hiv Aids

The purpose of the article is to examine the right to social assistance for households living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. In particular, the article focuses on the impact of this pandemic on households' access to social assistance benefits in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has wrought untold sorrow and suffering to the overwhelming majority of households in South Africa. The article analyses the consequences of HIV/AIDS in relation to households' support systems, care and dependency burdens, and the extent to which the household members either acknowledge the illness (enabling them to better engage with treatment options) or alternatively, deny its existence. The article commences by reviewing the literature concerning the effects and social impact of HIV/AIDS on the livelihoods of households and their families. The social reciprocity that underpins households' livelihoods is briefly recapitulated. The article concludes that, while recent policy developments are to be welcomed, the current South African legal system of social security does not provide adequate cover for both people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. More remains to be done in order to provide a more comprehensive social security system for the excluded and marginalised people who are living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

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