Using antiretroviral drugs early could stop spread of AIDS
Published: February 22, 2021
Studies are currently being performed on antiretroviral drugs – those given to AIDS patients to prolong their lives – to see whether they could be the tool in curbing the spread of the disease when used as a chemical shield.
The Washington Post reports tests are currently being done to see whether these drugs, which can be taken in the form of pills or gels (vaginal or rectal), could actually stop the spread of AIDS during what they call “high-risk sexual encounters”.
“Arguably the greatest progress in the AIDS epidemic has been in the development of highly effective drugs,” AIDS researcber at the University of Pittsburgh John W. Mellors said. “This is now being applied not only to help infected individuals but as a public health approach to the whole epidemic.”
According to Epidemiologist Brian Williams, CNN reports, “concentration of the virus drops by a factor of 10,000 with antiretroviral treatment, resulting in 25 times the reduction of infectiousness”. Essentially this means that if many more people began this treatment early, there would be less new cases of AIDS, Williams said at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
“We could effectively stop transmission within five years,” Williams said.
According to estimates from 2008, the World Health Organiziation predicts there are currently 33 people infected with HIV.
Celebrities who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS include Liberace and Magic Johnson.
Image: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1153877
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