1998

Aids chief steps down: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - July 17, 1998; Andy Duffy; A senior commander in the government s fight against HIV and Aids is to step down. Rose Smart, the former nurse who revived the HIV/Aids and STD (sexually transmitted diseases) Directorate following the Sarafina II scandal, wants to leave in November when her contract expires. It is a 12-hour day, seven-days-a-week job
Virodene man's link to drugs, car: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - July 10, 1998; The former Umkhonto weSizwe cadre heading the company that controls controversial Aids drug Virodene cut his business teeth in the Southern African criminal underworld. Former colleagues from the African National Congress s years in exile claim Joshua Nxumalo had a reputation for getting things done , and that he speci
Tax rands help fast-track Virodene: If all goes to plan, controversial Aids drug Virodene could soon get the go-ahead: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - June 26, 1998; Andy Duffy; A team of top medical experts, funded from the public purse, has been helping prepare the controversial Aids drug Virodene for clearance for human trials. The group, established by the Medicines Control Council (MCC), is working closely with Virodene s private owners to eliminate potential scientific problems with the
Virodene's new black owners: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - June 19, 1998; Success at last: Olga Visser, champion of the Aids drug Virodene, displays the patch on her arm photograph:
Virodene cash flow mystery: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - April 17, 1998; Andy Duffy; The group behind the controversial Aids drug, Virodene PO58, has so far spent around R1- million on the drug, including paying its manager roughly R150 000 for three months part- time work. Cryopreservation Technologies (CPT) refuses to divulge its funding sources, beyond its 10 feuding shareholders. But the extent of
Virodene may activate Aids virus: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 20, 1998; Lynda Gledhill; A recent study published in a medical journal suggests that DMF, the main chemical constituent of Virodene, may activate the HIV virus. South African medical experts who reviewed the article said it raises serious questions about Virodene and its potential affect on Aids patients. The study showed that several industri
Drugs are not the only option: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 20, 1998; Lynda Gledhill; It may not be possible to put a price on someone s life, but doctors know it takes enormous amounts of money to give the thousands of South Africans infected with HIV a longer, healthier life. Drug therapies have proven to be very effective at fighting the virus and have dramatically improved the outlook for many patie
Virodene may activate Aids virus: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 20, 1998; Lynda Gledhill; A recent study published in a medical journal suggests that DMF, the main chemical constituent of Virodene, may activate the HIV virus. South African medical experts who reviewed the article said it raises serious questions about Virodene and its potential affect on Aids patients. The study showed that several industri
Virodene's unanswered questions: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 13, 1998; Stefaans Brummer and Lynda Gledhill; Uncertainty surrounds the authenticity of two faxes that Ziggy Visser, husband of Virodene inventor Olga Visser, says he sent to the African National Congress in December which proved shares had not been earmarked for the party. This is one of the unresolved issues to be investigated by Public Protector Selby Baqwa aft
The real Virodene scandal: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 6, 1998; The political mud-slinging that erupted this week between the Democratic Party and the African National Congress over the so-called Aids treatment Virodene has served to obscure the real issues, and significant dangers, associated with the Virodene project. Minister of Health Nkosazana Zuma s fierce response seems to i
Virodene 'general' denies ANC links: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 06, 1998; Angella Johnson; The general who was given 1% of Virodene s parent company for African National Congress introductions work claims he actually received the share as a gift from Ziggy and Olga Visser for helping them make contact with prominent black businesspeople. Documents used to attack the ANC this week for its alleged involvement
Radio hearing Aids: Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - March 06, 1998; Ferial Haffajee; With radio booming, the number of independent production houses is growing to titillate the ears and provide quality local radio. One of them is Wola Nani, an Aids- support organisation that has also produced a series of programmes on different aspects of living positively with the HIV virus. Other non-governmental org

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©1980, 1998. AEGiS.