Early HIV Treatment Reduces Transmission

2011-05-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

Early HIV Treatment Reduces Transmission
The World Health Organization is calling the results of a new study a “crucial development” in HIV treatment. The U.S. National Institutes of Health studied almost 1,800 couples from countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas in which one partner was infected with HIV. The researchers found that the couples, in which the infected partner was started on antiretroviral medications immediately after diagnosis, had a 96% decrease in the rate of HIV transmission to the uninfected partner, compared to couples in which the infected partner was given antiretroviral drugs only when their white blood cell counts decreased. Among those who started therapy immediately after diagnosis there was only one case of transmission between partners. In the other group there were 27 HIV transmissions. The study was cut short by four years due to the successful outcome thus far, and will no doubt affect current recommendations for HIV treatment. [via BBC]

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Early HIV Treatment Reduces Transmission