HIV patient nutrition more vital than once assumed
Nutrition Access to HIV medication has significantly reduced the number of AIDS related deaths in Africa. Yet in a number of African countries one in four HIV infected still dies within months of commencing treatment. One reason for these deaths is malnutrition which causes the HIV-virus to develop unreasonably aggressively. Now a team of researchers from University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Jimma University in Ethiopia have shown that a dietary supplement given during the first months of HIV treatment significantly improves the general condition of patients. Their results are published in the journal BMJ. Roughly 25 million Africans live with HIV, many of who now have access to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Among their side effects, ARVs can cause patients to put on weight. Subsequently, attention paid to malnutrition among African HIV patients has waned. However, widespread malnutrition has been identified as a reason that up to a quarter of HIV patients in a number of Africa