The disease, also known as bilharzia and snail fever, is caused by parasitic worms picked up in infested river water. It is marked by fragile sores in the far reaches of the vaginal canal that may serve as entry points for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Dr. Eyrun F. Kjetland, who leads the Otimati team, says that it is more common than syphilis or herpes, which can also open the way for H.I.V. The worms can be killed by a drug that costs as little as 8 cents a pill. [However,] South African patent laws permit only the Bayer version, which costs $4. Some prominent AIDS experts doubt the schistosomiasis theory, pointing out, for example, that urban women raised far from infested water also die of AIDS. But proponents of the theory say that two decades ago, many experts were just as skeptical of the idea that circumcision protected men against H.I.V. It was not until 2006 that three clinical trials proved it correct. 70 million African children could be dewormed twice a year for 10 years at a cost of $112 million, said Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in an essay titled “Africa’s 32 Cents Solution for H.I.V./AIDS” (32 cents being the cost of two generic deworming pills twice a year). That is cheap compared with the $38 billion Pepfar is expected to spend on AIDS in that period.
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 12:23:18 +0000
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