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A baseline study could have marked a major breakthrough in the fight against the AIDS epidemic, as it revealed that a treatment could prevent people who are already HIV-positive from badually transmitting the virus to a partner.
A European study examined nearly 1,000 male couples, one of whom was HIV positive and was receiving antiretroviral therapy. During an eight-year period, no case of badually transmitted infection without a condom to the HIV-negative partner has been reported.
While 15 out of 972 gay couples were HIV-positive during the study, genetic tests showed that the virus was badually transmitted by an outside partner who did not participate in the treatment.
NEW: Effective antiretroviral therapy prevents badual transmission of HIV in gay men | A 8-year, peer-reviewed, European peer-review study of nearly 1,000 male homobadual couples in which one of the partners was on antiretroviral therapy. Https://t.co/CQnHQdYhGu pic.twitter.com/CFe5ZvHAKK
– The Lancet (@TheLancet) May 2, 2019
This potential advance could spell the end of the spread of infections, according to an expert co-author of the paper published in the medical journal The Lancet on May 2.
His findings reinforce the hope of previous studies, which showed that the risk of transmission between heterobadual couples was zero, when the treatment was used on an HIV-positive partner, reported The Guardian.
"It's great, fantastic. This solves the problem, "said Professor Alison Rodgers of University College London.
"Our results corroborate the message of the international U = U campaign that undetectable viral load makes HIV non-communicable," added Rodgers.
The PARTNER study confirms that #UequalsU for people living with #HIV. An important message – not just for health workers, policymakers and people living with HIV, but for everyone. HIV-positive people under effective treatment can not transmit the virus. https://t.co/raDw32XxEA
– The HIV Lancet (@TheLancetHIV) May 3, 2019
She added that this "powerful message" could end the HIV pandemic by preventing transmission of the virus in high-risk populations.
The study found that during the 8 years of the study, approximately 472 HIV transmissions were prevented through antiretroviral suppressive therapy.
Grt to hear the #UequalsU message in the media today "HIV-positive people for suppressive treatment can not badually transmit it" Prof. Alison Rodgers of @ucl sure @ BBCr4today we agree that the work now needs to focus on the wider dissemination of this powerful message
– CHIVA (@chivaprojects) May 3, 2019
More than 77 million people have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. According to Reuters, 35.4 million people infected, or nearly half, have died of the virus. Nearly 40 million people worldwide were HIV positive in 2017.
The researchers hope this study will eliminate the stigma badociated with the virus and reinforce the need for frequent HIV testing.
Myron S. Cohen, of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases in North Carolina, commented in The Lancet study: "It's not not always easy for people to get tested for HIV or to have access to care; In addition, fear, stigma, homophobia and other adverse social forces continue to compromise the treatment of HIV. "
"The diagnosis of HIV infection is difficult in the early stages of infection when transmission is very effective, and this limitation also compromises treatment as a prevention strategy," he added. .
One in two people living with HIV in Europe are diagnosed late. We must ensure early diagnosis for everyone. More information on EU-funded research to fight HIV / AIDS: https://t.co/WjCYE6uXCe #WorldAIDSDay pic.twitter.com/HkQvqRgsvO
– European Commission ?? (@EU_Commission) December 1, 2017
Nearly half of new HIV diagnoses are late, posing a major obstacle to providing treatment to infected people, the Guardian said.
"If we do not reduce the late diagnosis, there will always be people who do not know their HIV status and therefore can not access treatment," said Deborah Gold, Executive Director of the National Aids Trust.
"We believe that the results of this study could be extremely powerful in removing some of the barriers to testing in communities where the stigma surrounding HIV is still widespread."
While the number of people killed by the virus is decreasing every year and the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy is increasing, global health experts say the number of new infections per year remains stubbornly high, at 1, 8 million.
"In these studies, antiretrovirals have become more effective, reliable, durable, easier to take, well tolerated, and much less expensive," Cohen said in his commentary.
"The results … provide yet another catalyst for a universal testing and treatment strategy to provide all the benefits of antiretroviral drugs. This strategy and others continue to push us toward the end of AIDS. "
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