Anthony Bugembe
14 February 2008
Kampala — UGANDA and Sweden are conducting a research on diarrhoea associated with HIV/AIDS. The research is aimed at establishing whether ColoPlus, a food supplement, can improve on the immunity of HIV-patients against diarrhoea.
"This is good news for Uganda's health sector. I am optimistic that the study will be completed on time and yield positive results," Anders Johnson, the Swedish ambassador said while meeting the project stakeholders on Monday in Kampala.
The research, which has been conducted for one year, is expected to be completed in June. A total of 80 people living with HIV/AIDS are participating in the research.
They are aged 18 years and above and have chronic HIV-associated diarrhoea.
They are receiving medical care at Gulu Hospital.
A total of 40 patients are being given ColoPlus and other diarrhoea treatments, while the rest are only receiving other treatments.
The project also explores the prospects of processing ColoPlus in Uganda.
The food supplement is currently processed in Sweden by ColoPlus AB.
ColoPlus is a product of bovine colostrums, which is the first milk a suckling calf receives from a cow.
According to researchers, bovine colostrum gives a calf passive immunity before its own active immunity is established.
"We shall start with packaging and blending in Uganda and later consider the option of obtaining the colostrum from Ugandan diary farmers," said Conny Hagman, the managing director of Coloplus AB.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
