SA minister's liver op 'urgent'

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The doctor to South Africa's health minister has said her liver transplant was "most urgent", quashing media speculation that she jumped the queue.

Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is said to be recovering well in hospital after her five-hour operation on Wednesday.

She is also known as "Dr Beetroot" for her advice to those with HIV to eat garlic and beetroot as a treatment.

Her doctor said she scored the highest points on a scale that determines how urgently a liver transplant is needed.

Jeff Wing, head of the department of medicine at Johannesburg Hospital, said Dr Tshabalala-Msimang is expected to stay in hospital for at least a month.

She has been diagnosed as suffering from auto-immune hepatitis, which doctors said had badly damaged her liver.

Transport Minister Jeff Radebe is standing in as health minister while she is ill.

This week Aids activists gathered to discuss the government's new five-year plan to combat Aids, as new research suggested 1,500 citizens were infected with HIV every day.

They broadly welcomed it as a significant turn-around from past policies, such as the garlic and beetroot diet, which they say failed to address the epidemic.

The government aims to halve infections by 2011, extend its anti-retroviral drug programme, and raise awareness.