A study that looked at 1,763 couples in Africa, Asia, South America and the United States, found that HIV-infected patients in a stable sexual relationship cut their odds of transmitting the virus to their partner by 96 percent if they got antiretroviral medications soon after diagnosis.
The new findings build on the the findings of similar research released July 13 by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In two separate studies, scientists found that giving antiretroviral drugs to heterosexuals at high risk of HIV infection significantly reduced their chances of developing the AIDS-causing virus.
"Now, more than ever, the priority for HIV prevention research must be on how to deliver successful prevention strategies, like PrEP, to populations in greatest need," Dr. Jared Baeten, co-chair of one of the studies and a University of Washington associate professor of global health, told HealthDay News.
The next step in treatment will be identifying and isolating those at high risk for HIV infection. That list includes those that have multiple sex partners, use intravenous drugs or have multiple sexually transmitted disease, Dr. Margaret A. Fischl, professor of medicine and director of the AIDS Clinical Research Unit and co-director of the University of Miami Developmental Center for AIDS Research, told HealthDay.
"… We need to identify people with HIV and get them into care, because in doing that we know that we decrease the transmission of HIV," Fischl said.
