5 STEPS FOR REDUCING HIV TRANSMISSION.
1.“Treatment as prevention” – where the treatment of HIV positive people
prevents onward transmission. It provides long-awaited information to
help HIV serodiscordant couples navigate transmission risks during sexual
intimacy.
2."Pre-exposure prophylaxis" - This involves people at risk of infection taking a daily antiretroviral
tablet in conjunction with other HIV prevention measures, such as condom
use and regular testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections.
3."Antiretroviral therapy" - A number of combinations of antiretroviral agents are available for
people living with HIV who choose to start this treatment. Several of
these regimens require only tablet daily.This small pill burden and the relatively low toxicity profile of
newer antiretroviral drugs make it easier for people living with the
virus to adhere to their medications.
4."Co-infection of HIV and hepatitis C" :- People who are co-infected with both HIV and hepatitis C are at risk of
developing severe liver disease, and are at risk of more rapid
development of cirrhosis of the liver. new treatments for hepatitis C are highly effective, with lower toxicity
and shorter treatment durations (eight to 24 weeks) than older
treatment regimens, which took up to 48 weeks.
5. "Towards a cure" :- The chief obstacle to curing HIV infection is the virus’ persistence
in a latent form within certain cell reservoirs in the body.
The main challenges for finding a cure for HIV infection then include
preventing the virus from establishing latency in these cellular
reservoirs during acute infection, and removing the latent virus from
reservoirs during chronic infection.
It’s possible the development of latent HIV reservoirs was prevented in the case of the “Mississippi Baby” who received HIV treatment within 30 hours of delivery. This treatment was continued for 18 months, and tests have shown that even at 40 months of age, she has no virus detectable in her blood plasma.
Initiatives to prevent HIV from establishing latency and to remove latent HIV from the reservoirs during chronic HIV infection, including boosting the immune system with vaccines, are planned or underway in several clinical studies. The community is waiting to hear their results.
It’s possible the development of latent HIV reservoirs was prevented in the case of the “Mississippi Baby” who received HIV treatment within 30 hours of delivery. This treatment was continued for 18 months, and tests have shown that even at 40 months of age, she has no virus detectable in her blood plasma.
Initiatives to prevent HIV from establishing latency and to remove latent HIV from the reservoirs during chronic HIV infection, including boosting the immune system with vaccines, are planned or underway in several clinical studies. The community is waiting to hear their results.
The UNAIDS 90-90-90 target calls on countries to reach the following goals:
- 90% of people living with HIV diagnosed by 2020
- 90% of diagnosed people on antiretroviral treatment by 2020
- 90% of people in treatment with fully suppressed viral load by 2020.
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