Page 17 - Nursing Matters June 2021 Vol 12

cur r ent issues
current issues

The role of primary healthcare

nurses in cryptococcal antigen

screening in South Africa

Manqoba Shandu , Rudzani Mathebula , Juliet Paxton , Nelesh Govender 1,2
1
1
1*
1 Centre for Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses, National Institute for
Communicable Diseases, a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa
2 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Background Organization (WHO) clinical stage achieved 85% of HIV infected people
3 or 4 event. This term can be used being aware of their status, 71% on ART
2
HIV attacks the very cells that help the interchangeably with AIDS. In 2019, and 86% virally suppressed. 5
body fight infection and thus being HIV- 38 million people were estimated to be
infected weakens a person’s defence living with HIV globally, with 25.4 million People with AHD are at increased risk
3
against a range of opportunistic people accessing ART. South Africa has of an opportunistic fungal disease called
1
infections and diseases . If undiagnosed the largest HIV epidemic in the world, cryptococcosis caused by fungi in the
and untreated, HIV infection can with nearly 7 700 000 people living genus, Cryptococcus. Cryptococcus is
6
progress to advanced HIV disease with HIV, and 240 000 new infections the most common cause of meningitis in
(AHD). This progression can also occur reported annually. Although progress adults living with AHD in sub-Saharan
4
1
if a person living with HIV interrupts their has been made in reducing AIDS-related Africa. Cryptococcal meningitis (CM)
6
antiretroviral therapy (ART) for whatever deaths from 140 000 in 2010 to 71 000 is a major cause of morbidity and
reason. Among adults living with HIV, in 2018, the number of AIDS-related mortality. CM has been estimated
7
AHD is defined as having a CD4+ deaths is still unacceptably high. South to affect 223 100 people annually,
4
T-cell count of <200 cells/µl or having Africa aims to reach the UNAIDS 90- resulting in 181 100 AIDS-related deaths.
been diagnosed with a World Health 90-90 targets by 2035, currently having Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest
HIV Nursing Matters | June 2021 | page 15