Malaria warning issued for HIV-positive people

With the festive season approaching, HIV-positive South African travellers were this week alerted to the dangers of contracting malaria. Dr Andrew Jamieson of SAA-Netcare, the nation's leading travel adviser, cited a study published earlier this year in the SA Pharmaceutical Journal, that said HIV-positive people risked death by becoming infected with malaria. The study said HIV-positive travellers were not only at increased risk of contracting a variety of exotic infections, but were also twice as likely to progress to complicated malaria, and seven times more likely to suffer a fatal outcome. Jamieson told the South African Broadcasting Corporation: "This [study] highlights the interaction of the two diseases, which is of great public and occupational health importance."