Furthermore the earlier a patient is given treatment, the less likely it is they will transmit the virus to their sexual partners unwittingly.
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“With its treat-all recommendation, World Health Organization removes all limitations on eligibility for antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV”, it said.
Anyone who tests positive for HIV should get immediate treatment, regardless of how sick they are, the United Nations health agency said Wednesday, revising its guidelines.
According to Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, “Everybody living with HIV has the right to life-saving treatment”. The new guidelines mean nine million more people living with HIV should be treated, and recommends protective treatment for millions more. Previously, scientists felt that the risks of the drugs outweighed the benefits until the patient’s immune systems had reached a certain level of damage.
The recommendations were developed as part of a comprehensive update of the “WHO consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for preventing and treating HIV infection“. Throughout the program, participants had access to weekly addiction counseling sessions, HIV risk reduction and overdose prevention counseling.
A CD4 count is a lab test that measures the number of CD4 T lymphocytes in a sample of blood. Among those with CD4 of more than 350, treatment is deferred for asymptomatic persons.
However, World Health Organization has not said how the new treatment will be made available or how much the new guidelines will cost. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advocated that combination for several years as well. About 14 million of the infected are now on treatment.
It’s expected that the move will drive a dramatic increase in demand for ART medicines, which usually come in a triple-drug cocktail created to lower the risk of the virus developing resistance.
Major suppliers of HIV drugs include Gilead Sciences (GILD.O), ViiV Healthcare, which is majority-owned by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), and multiple Indian generic manufacturers.
Currently, only 15 million HIV-infected people are receiving antiretrovirals. But MSF warned that turning this new recommendation into reality would require dramatically increased support from donors and governments. Research has also shown that this could reduce the chance of people transmitting HIV to others.
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Several research studies among groups at higher risk of HIV infection have also indicated the significant efficacy of PrEP in reducing new HIV infections.
