Drug-resistant HIV in South Africa: status and response

Abstract

As with other antimicrobial agents, widespread use of life saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the management of infection with HIV comes with the risk of the development of antimicrobial resistance. The risk of the development of HIV mutations with resistance to ARVs may be exacerbated by weaknesses in health services and by the loss of patients from the cascade of care. Drug-resistant HIV is associated with a higher risk of mortality, and high levels of drug-resistant HIV will impede progress towards attainment of the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets and could potentially reverse the remarkable progress that has been made by the antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme to date. This policy brief presents findings on drug-resistant HIV in South Africa and suggests policy responses to this emerging issue.