High HIV/AIDS prevalence among health workers requires urgent action.

Abstract

The article entitled Prevalence of HIV infection and median CD4 counts among health care workers in South Africa by Connelly et al. in this issue of the Journal provides further evidence on the challenge of HIV/AIDS to health service delivery in South Africa. This is the second empirical study conducted among South African health workers to demonstrate that the HIV epidemic is serious enough to warrant immediate attention the initial study having been conducted in 2004. The results of Connelly et al. are generally consistent with current knowledge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among health workers. The authors need not be concerned about the minor differences observed between the two studies. The difference in HIV prevalence of 15.7% observed in our earlier study and the 11.5% observed by Connelly et al. in this issue of the Journal might be ascribed to three factors. First sampling - the prevalence figure of 15.7% was derived from a sample of primary health care and hospital health workers employed in the four provinces two of which are known to have a very high HIV prevalence while the 11.5% figure was derived from a population of health workers working in two hospitals in Gauteng. Second in the study by Connelly et al. (excerpt)