News

In an insightful, observant and very perceptive interview with Christopher CK Kangwa, The Chief Executive Officer, CK Scientific Zambia Limited, on the issue of HIV / AIDS in Africa.

HIV / AIDS (with its Aids Related Complexes – ARC’s) wild fire’ ramifications is utterly undeniable The impact is all-encompassing cross every conceivable facet of life imaginable, this scourge bears in indescribably ugly and catastrophic impact.

Aids
Malaria – need to be seen to be relevant.

TB
No one is not affected! Not one of us has not lost or heard of a suffering relative, workmate,
School or college mate or even neighbour through HIV/AIDS or even its ARC’s.

All of us – what ever our station – deserve to pause and consider what ever our contribution could be, and the path forward which should be taken. From our service industry perspective this duty seems extremely urgent.

The development of Anti Retro - Viral drugs (ARV's) offers somewhat welcome relief.

However prohibitive costs - in their development and manufacture - have previously rendered these drugs securely out of the reach of millions of victims in Africa. Thankfully in our developing countries, these underprivileged victims now have better or improved access to ARV's - a welcome development indeed.

Thanks in part to the guilt mixed with both responsibility and growing philanthropic considerations from the more privileged.
Still does this present a complete remedy to our problem? Just what is the way forward?

Truthfully, these ARV's, as research abundantly shows, need to be stringently monitored for the benefit and safety of patients. Otherwise these well- Intended novel discoveries may rapidly prove to a subtle and vicious double-edged sword in our hands - they could become toxic instead of being curative.
Worse still, these ARV's might - if not well used - induce multiple resistances in the virus to our unimaginable detriment! So what is the way forward?

How else, for instance, shall we evaluate Mother To Child (MTC) Transmission? If ARV's prove to be
effective in preventing transmission initially, how do we evaluate is a second administration is given on conception of a second or further children?

Or, as in the case of Tuberculosis (TB), how do we know is on patient presentation, we are viewing a true ARC-TB. Then, how will we know what drugs that particular TB strain shall respond to before we eagerly commence on an extended treatment regime Or/perhaps - in our customary fashion - as here in Zambia and such like places - a standard regimen is given irrespective of the sensitivity pattern
due to the long turn over time by standard culture methods on Lowarstein Jensen Media.

So the question remains - just what is the way forward against this incomparable foe?

Clearly, the doctors need to pry into for instance the haematology and biochemistry profiles of the victims. In order to do this, specific and specialised equipment is required. Procurement of these analysers sets us on the road to our desired destination - just like the Chinese wisely say - 'even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step....' But, a continual problem in many countries
has been whether reagents and consumables can be consistently and constantly available LOCALLY to
run the installed equipment? In case of breakdown, one has to ask the question of 'who locally will stand up to the challenge of sustainability? Moreover, who shall carry our Preventive Maintenance Arrangements (PMAs) locally. When these scattered pieces of jigsaw puzzle are carefully pieced together, than and only then, shall the millions of victims - our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, friends and other many relatives - the quality of life and even longevity be secured and assured - this surely must be the WAY AHEAD.

From CK Scientific Group Zambia Limited standpoint, the remedy is resoundingly clear - a focused and effective but LOCALLY sustainable investment in DIAGNOSTICS shall afford us the elusive yet invaluable insight of a military intelligence nature to enable us to prepare and fight this formidable foe. We deserve to stop shooting in the dark! The stakes are far too great, resources far too scanty for wastage, and time too short for experimentation lest we become like emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burns.
We do not live nor subscribe to Utopia, but we believe - and this immovably - the this and this fully is THE WAY FORWARD in the fight against HIV / AIDS.