Reversing the Tide: Treating HIV in Africa

During the past 15 years, life expectancy rates have fallen dramatically in many African countries because of increases in adult mortality rates; these increases are thought to be attributable to HIV-related deaths. Can provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduce overall adult mortality in a resource-poor country with a high prevalence of HIV infection? To find out, investigators used a demographic surveillance system to compare mortality rates in a population of 32,000 people in Malawi before and after the opening of a local clinic that provided free ART. A previous study showed the prevalence of HIV infection in this population to be 11%. Causes of death were determined through retrospective interviews.

Before the ART clinic opened, t…