By Nangamso Mabindla
21 June 2004

BUFFALO City municipality is studying the prevalence of HIV/Aids among its 5 000 employees.

This study, which began on Monday 21 June, is part of a municipality initiative to offer employees counselling and healthcare advice.

The five-day study, conducted by the South African Medical Research Council, offers the City's employees the chance to discover their HIV status.

Cherrie Zuccarani from the Epicentre Aids Risk Management Foundation in Johannesburg said it was important to know one's status. People who discovered the virus in its early stages could prolong their lives.

"When you find the virus in its formative stages you have the opportunity of living a normal life and of eventually dying of old age."

However, people with the virus needed to lead health lives.

"When you discover your status and you do not live healthy, you die early," she said.

Zuccarani said a person who discovered his or her status at the age of 30 and did not lead a healthy lifestyle would live to only 40.

According to Zuccarani, there were five stages of HIV:

• initial infection, which brought a flu-like illness and meant the patient would test positive for HIV;
• a period of good health and an absence of signs and symptoms, although the sufferer may have swollen glands;
• a stage of mild signs and symptoms - such as fever, swollen glands and some weight loss - that may mean sick leave has to be taken;
• moderate to severe signs and symptoms - susceptibility to illnesses such as TB, night fevers, severe weight loss and diarrhoea - that increase absenteeism; and
• Aids, the stage at which the immune system no longer works. Severe weight loss and brain infection mean the sufferer can no longer work.

"When a person eats healthy and exercises they live longer and stay in the second phase of the virus. If you discover your status at 30 and live healthy, you might live to 70," Zuccarani said.

She was happy the City's leaders - including its directors - had volunteered for testing and said other staff members would also be inspired.

"Your being here shows your commitment to fight this illness in the office."

The study will be concluded on Friday and employees are expected to receive the results next week.

Buffalo City also demonstrated its commitment to fighting the illness by launching its HIV/Aids intersectoral forum in King Williams Town last week.

The City's special-programme's manager, Wongezile Goba, said the forum was aimed at eradicating the illness.

"We are in partnership with NGOs, community-based organisations and other governments departments. We want to get rid of this killer."

The municipality planned to launch its next forum at the end of the month.

"These forums will reach out to our communities - then we will know their concerns. We want to help them fight this debilitating disease," said Goba.