[LIVE] Are people with #HIV and #TB more likely to die of #COVID19SA? Our #BhekisisaWebinar in partnership with @Auruminstitute is on NOW. We'll be live-tweeting the event, follow on for live updates. bit.ly/2UsZbmn
First up, Mary-Ann Davies, public health medicine expert at @WesternCapeGov health department will release SA's first preliminary data on the #COVID19SA death risk for #HIV and #TB patients from the Western Cape. #BhekisisaWebinar
Until now, there hasn't been much data on #TB and #HIV and how those conditions affect your risk of dying from #COVID19SA, Davies says. Getting good data is not easy. #BhekisisaWebinar bit.ly/2UsZbmn
Now, the @WestCapeHealth can use public sector data to deduce whether patients are living with #HIV and diabetes for example, but some habits like smoking are not captured. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Men, and people who are older are more likely to die from #COVID19SA, Davies says. People with high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes are at a higher risk of dying from COVID19SA. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar 
People with TB are slightly more likely to die from #COVID19SA , but they are still better off than people living with #diabetes. #NCDS bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
The main takeaway? People with #HIV are about 2 to 2.5 times more likely to die from #COVID19SA, although this might be over-estimated since Davies and her team have not been able to fully seperate the data from other comorbidities. #NCDS bit.ly/2UsZbmn
Francois Venter, a director at @ezinthsha, says the @WestCapeHealth data will be crucial for SA's handling of the #COVID19SA pandemic. #NCDS bit.ly/2UsZbmn
As SA's #HIV pandemic began to make progress, it now has to fight a new virus. Now, Venter says, TB and HIV viral load testing rates has gone down. "Health-seeking behaviour for HIV and TB have dropped during the pandemic." #NCDS bit.ly/2UsZbmn
People are not picking up their HIV medication, Venter says. "Its a catastrophe for the HIV response." #NCDS bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Why aren't people coming to get their #ARVs? People are afraid of the police, and they're afraid they'll be put in prison if they test positive, Venter says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
We might see a wave of sickness and death which could be as big of a problem to the health system as #COVID19SA, Venter says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Gavin Churchyard, @Auruminstitute CEO, says there could be biological interactions between #TB & #COVID19SA. That means TB infection might make you more susceptible to COVID-19, for example. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
What has the impact of COVID-19 been on TB? Fewer diagnostic tests, fewer people treated, and fewer people living with #HIV being treated for #TB, Churchyard says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Globally a 3-month lockdown could lead to millions more TB deaths. In SA, the longer #lockdownSA goes on, the more #TB patients will be impacted. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
If however government scales up its efforts to make treatment, diagnostics and prevention accessible, Churchyard says, SA might be able to stop this backslide in #TB treatment. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
What about the gamechanger #TB drug 3HP? The drug will be available in some SA clinics from July, Churchyard says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
#COVID19SA could increase your risk of developing #TB and, could impact #TB treatment, Churchyard says. This is why rolling out 3HP now could be a gamechanger, and SA is ready to do so, he says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Health activist Phumeza Tisile says health workers on the frontline of the #COVID19SA response are often left without proper PPE and sanitiser. They need to be properly protected so that they can protect people in the community. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
We haven't seen huge numbers of patients needing hospital admission who have advanced HIV. "We're not seeing a big effect of immune dysfunction, but there's still a lot more to be unpacked," Davies says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
People with #HIV who died from #COVID19SA also had other underlying conditions. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Davies says she has insufficient data to say whether type 1 or 2 diabetes makes puts people at higher risk of dying from #COVID19SA. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
How will we "mop up" the problems caused by #COVID19SA on SA's #HIV response? Francois Venter says that luckily, people can go back on their treatment. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Social distancing and handwashing can prevent #TB transmission too, but it also means people battle to access TB treatment services, Churchyard says. But overall #COVID19SA effect on #TB is harmful. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Contact tracing for #TB patients has dropped during #LockdownSA. SA has failed to integrate the services and to capitalise on the opportunity that #COVID19SA gives us, Churchyard says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
#CHWs can't fight #COVID19SA alone, they need all the assistance they can get, says Tisile. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Lessons from #HIV? Venter says @GovernmentZA could have explained the importance of social distancing better, #HIV has shown us that getting buy-in from patients is critical. "The one thing you don't do is threaten to lock people up." bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Why are the Western Cape's figures so high? Davies says the most likely hypothesis is that the province had earlier spread from international settings. She argues tourists may have been spreading #COVID19SA before SA recorded its first imported cases. bit.ly/2UsZbmn
Some of the earlier WC cases were people who work at tourist destinations, Davies says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
.@WestCapeHealth is aware and concerned about its #TB programme and has seen fewer people show up for treatment, Davies says. Some TB facilities have been repurposed for #COVID19SA. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Should people's #HIV treatment be changed if they contract #COVID19SA? There's no change really says Francois Venter. The short answer is to stay on your #ARVs. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Observational data on tenofovir, which many South African #HIV patients take, has not shown success to treat #COVID19SA symptoms, Venter says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Data from @WestCapeHealth is "absolutely critical" for SA's #COVID19SA response, Venter says. SA is failing to properly put in place the low tech, easy interventions such as hand washing and social distancing. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
The government must provide platforms for #COVID19SA survivors to break down stigma, says Phumeza Tisile. "There are people who survive this and we need to hear their stories." bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
On the ground, community health workers are saying its hard to go out, they are anxious because they don't have the #PPE they need to do their jobs, says Tisile. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
The important thing is to not lose one's guard when it comes to #COVID19SA infection. "We tend to be very careful in the Covid-ward, but not as vigilant in the tea-room," Davies says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
WC has higher death rates than the rest of SA, but it's on par with what we're seeing from around the world, says Davies. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
There is an overlap of symptoms, but when you present with coronavirus, it's more immediate, one day you're fine and the next day you're very sick. #TB is a much slower process, Venter says. It's more difficult to separate #COVID19SA from flu. bit.ly/2UsZbmn
We need to prioritise healthcare workers, and hospitals and then move to symptomatic other areas such as old age homes. What doesn't make sense is to test healthy people, Venter says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
SA has one of the biggest #PCR testing capacities in the world and the best experts in the world in terms of scaling up testing. The expertise was there, and the machines are there, it's the reagents that have run out, Venter says. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Tisile concludes: "If health workers are not safe, nobody is safe. We have seen this with TB, and must now respond with #COVID19SA. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
Tisile says just like it was important to communicate the importance of condoms to prevent #HIV, it is crucial to communicate the importance of masks to prevent #COVID19SA infection. bit.ly/2UsZbmn #BhekisisaWebinar
