The economic impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo Province

Although HIV/AIDS infection is a global problem, the epicentre of the disease lies in Africa. In fact, about 70 per cent of the global HIV/AIDS infected population can be found in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, 2000). The reported HIV/AIDS sero-prevalence rate for South Africa was estimated at 23.5 per cent in 2000 (Department of Health, 2000). This high rate of HIV/AIDS infection poses enormous problems and challenges to the economic development of the country, more so because HIV/AIDS affects the most economically productive sector of the population. The high rate of HIV/AIDS infection also calls for an urgent need to assess the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in the country. This paper focuses on the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo province. The high level of poverty in this province (i.e. 59 per cent) makes this assessment even more pertinent, given the fact that poverty stands to increase people's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, while HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality may cause affected households to be forced into poverty. The specific objectives of this paper are as follows (i) To assess the economic impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo Province (e.g. the impact of HIV/AIDS on household size, household income, household expenditures, household savings, household assets, and household borrowings). (ii) To identify rural households' coping strategies for mitigating the adverse economic impact of HIV/AIDS. (iii) To put forward appropriate policy recommendations to mitigate the economic impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo Province

In-vitro cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities, against clinical isolates of Campylobacter species and Entamoeba histolytica, of local medicinal plants from the Venda region, in South Africa

In the quest for alternative treatments against Campylobacter jejuni and Entamoeba histolytica, which are both aetiological agents of diarrhoea world-wide, the in-vitro activities against the two pathogens of extracts of 18 South African medicinal plants have recently been assessed. Forty extracts from the 18 plant species were prepared and tested against 110 clinical isolates of Campylobacter spp. In addition, extracts from eight of the plant species were tested against a standard strain (HM-1:IMSS) of E. histolytica, and the cytotoxicity of each of 19 extracts from 15 of the plant species was explored using Vero cell cultures and microdilution assays. At least one extract of each plant species investigated was found to be active against some of the Campylobacter isolates. Extracts of Lippia javanica and Pterocarpus angolensis had the highest antibacterial activity, each giving a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 90 μg/ml. Of the extracts tested against E. histolytica, however, only those of P. angolensis and Syzigium cordatum were found to have anti-amoebic activity, with MIC of 1.2 and 7.5 mg/ml, respectively. Although most of the extracts showed little toxicity against Vero cells, with most of the median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) recorded exceeding 400 μg/ml, an extract of Bauhinia galpini was quite toxic, with an IC50 of just 2.7 μg/ml. Acetone and methanol extracts of several of the plants show promise as templates for the design of new anti-diarrhoeal therapies

Incidence and Molecular Characterization of Hepatitis E Virus from Swine in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Hepatitis E virus-mediated infection is a serious public health concern in economically developing nations of the world. Globally, four major genotypes of HEV have been documented. Hepatitis E has been suggested to be zoonotic owing to the increase of evidence through various studies. Thus far, this paper reports on prevalence of hepatitis E virus among swine herd in selected communal and commercial farms in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A total of 160 faecal samples were collected from swine herds in Amathole and Chris Hani District Municipalities of Eastern Cape Province for the presence of HEV. Of the 160 faecal samples screened, only seven were positive (4.4%) for HEV. The nucleotide sequences analyses revealed the isolates as sharing 82% to 99% identities with other strains (KX896664, KX896665, KX896666, KX896667, KX896668, KX896669, and KX896670) from different regions of the world. We conclude that HEV is present among swine in the Eastern Cape Province, albeit in low incidence, and this does have public health implications. There is a need for maintenance of high hygienic standards in order to prevent human infections through swine faecal materials and appropriate cooking of pork is highly advised

Chemical constituents, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the essential oil flower of Tagetes minuta grown in Cala community Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract Background Tagetes minuta has a long record of human use for the treatment of stomach and intestinal diseases. Most drugs used for diseases treatment are less efficacious with side effects and this brought the search for new treatment regimens mainly from medicinal plants. Method The essential oil (EO) was extracted by Clevenger’s-type apparatus and its chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties were determined by GC-MS, spectrophotometric and broth dilution methods respectively. S. uberis, E. cloacae, S. aureus, M. smegmatis, L. ivanovii, Vibrio spp. and E. coli bacteria strains were used as test bacteria. Results GC-MS analysis revealed 98 compounds in the EO flower of T. minuta and β-Ocimene (14. 40%) was the major chemical constituents. The EO exhibited highest inhibitory effect against DPPH radical, followed by its effect on ABTS, while LP radical showed the least sensitivity with IC50 values of 2.45 mg/mL, 2.76 mg/mL and 3.23 mg/mL respectively. The EO showed antibacterial activities against all test organisms with MIC value for S. aureus, M. smegatis and S. uberis at 0.125 mg/mL and for L. ivanovii, Vibrio spp., E. cloacae and E. coli at 0.06 mg/mL. The EO showed MBC against E. cloacae and E. coli at 0.06 mg/mL at 0.5 mg/mL for S. uberis and 0.125 mg/mL for Vibrio spp. Conclusion Findings from this study suggest that the EO of T. minuta flower may be a useful candidate in the search for lead constituents for the synthesis of new potent antibacterial and antioxidant agent