Some Evidences Point To The Benefits Of Early Antiretroviral Intervention In Patients With HIV

The results of the trial are still several years away, but even without them there is a significant and growing body of scientific evidences suggesting that immediate intervention is more beneficial.

For example, in one trial half of the patients were receiving the drugs within several weeks or months after contracting the infection, and the other half was left untreated till their level CD4 went down to 350. The trial has shown that providing of relatively short (48 weeks) course of therapy within 6 months of contracting the virus allows to slow down the subsequent progression of disease significantly. Another study has demonstrated that starting antiviral combination therapy within four months of becoming infected strongly increases the likelihood of returning to the normal healthy CD4 count.

Anti-retroviral drugs now are much safer than 10 years ago. They don’t produce so many side effects in the long run and can be used for many years without significant problems. Also, many more drug combinations are now available which means that resistance problem, if arises, can be successfully tackled.

People taking anti-HIV drugs are much less likely to pass infection

Another important consideration is the fact that people undergoing antiretroviral therapy have very low blood concentration of virus (viral load). Modern drugs allow to achieve undetectable level of virus. The virus is still present in the body, but as long as the drugs are used, the virus is kept at bay on a very low level. People taking the drugs present significantly smaller danger to their sexual partners. The chances of transmitting the virus and infecting other people diminish by as much as 96%.

Swaziland: countrywide scheme of HIV prevention by early intervention

The last argument is a major driving point behind the pilot scheme that started in Swaziland this year. The scheme intends to treat with drugs all HIV-positive people in the country regardless of the stage of disease, time from initial infection, CD4+ count and viral load. Swaziland is a small African country which has the highest level of HIV in the world. Around 31% of Swaziland’s population is known to be infected. The level of HIV among pregnant women reaches as much as 43%. To stop further spread of virus, the new experimental scheme aims to reduce the viral load in the whole population of the country.

The doctors hope that Swaziland’s experiment will not only help this struggling nation but also provide a clear answer to the question of better timing for the start of therapy. It will also help to find out the best way of managing the epidemiological situation in the countries and regions badly affected by HIV.