[LINK] "HIV study bolsters idea of treatment as prevention"

[rfmcdonald]

André Picard, who co-wrote this Globe and Mail article with Cigdem Iltan, has followed HIV/AIDS in Canada and elsewhere for decades. This news item, relatively unsurprising, is yet another cheery news item about an epidemic that we're starting to understand how to treat effectively, if not yet effectively treat.

The notion that treating HIV can reduce the chances of the disease spreading – and therefore is also an effective means of prevention – “is a true game changer,” Dr. Julio Montaner, lead researcher of the study and director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS, said at the International AIDS Society conference in Vienna on Sunday.

The research is one of several studies that have encouraged the United Nations Program on HIV-AIDS to change its approach to the epidemic and view treatment as a prevention tool.

Researchers observed a 3-per-cent decrease in HIV diagnoses in B.C. for every 100 patients who used the treatment, called highly active antiretroviral therapy.

As use of HAART in B.C. increased 547 per cent between 1996 and 2009, the number of new HIV diagnoses fell 52 per cent, according to the study.

Antiretroviral drugs, which can slow the progression of HIV-AIDS symptoms, decrease viral loads in plasma and other biological fluids, the study said.

The findings dramatically enhance the return on investment for the therapy, and bolster the campaign for treating people earlier and more broadly because they will be less likely to infect others, Dr. Montaner said.

The researchers conducted a population-based study using data from B.C., where HIV care is free. The study also found a decrease in new HIV diagnoses in a more concentrated population base of intravenous drug users.