Danger or safety: Nevirapine in HIV prevention programme

The government was trying to blame everyone else for its decision to use nevirapine in its mother-to-child &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/360/14662_aids.html ' target=_blank>HIV prevention programme, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said on Saturday.

It was responding to a biting commentary in the ANC's weekly newsletter, which said US health officials had used Africans as guinea pigs for the anti-retroviral drug nevirapine.

The unsigned article also claimed that non-governmental organisations under the control of the pharmaceutical companies had, in collusion with the constitutional court, forced the government to roll out nevirapine before it felt satisfied about its safety, reports Independent Online.

The statement by the African National Congress comes after a string of reports that U.S.-funded trials in Uganda sparked safety concerns about the drug, Nevirapine.

This week, the Associated Press reported that in 2002, U.S. health authorities failed to inform the White House over concerns a single dose of Nevirapine might create resistance to future &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/19/25863.html ' target=_blank>AIDS medication, says Voice of America.