London, 21 July-(ANA)-More HIV/Aids patients in Africa could be treated if funds were switched from expensive laboratory testing to local care in villages, research suggests.
Results from a six-year clinical trial of 3,500 people showed that lab tests of how anti-retroviral drugs work and side-effects do little to prolong life.
Money saved would enable a third more people to be treated, one doctor said.
In the West, laboratory tests are routinely carried out. There is still no cure for HIV/Aids.
But anti-retroviral drugs can stop the disease from developing.
Scientists in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Britain followed almost 3,500 patients over six years for the study, known as Dart.
Dr Peter Mugyenyi said more than six million people in Africa required care, but only 2.2 million were currently getting it.(ANA)
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