Treatment as prevention is a term increasingly used to describe HIV

Treatment as prevention is a term increasingly used to describe HIV prevention methods that use antiretroviral treatment to decrease the chance of HIV transmission.

Antiretroviral treatment is used to reduce the risk of HIV from being passed on to another person - for example from an HIV positive pregnant woman to her unborn baby. It is also used to prevent HIV infection from being established in someone who has recently been exposed to the virus - for example a healthcare worker who has received a needlestick injury.

Although HIV treatment can significantly reduce infectiousness if taken exactly as prescribed, it cannot eliminate the risk of transmission completely, as HIV is never completely eradicated from the blood।

When is it appropriate to use HIV treatment as prevention?

Treatment as prevention initiatives should be assessed like other methods of HIV prevention: there needs to be evidence to suggest that it will be highly effective; the resources in place to carry out the programme; enough funding to support the programme; and a clearly identified target population. Finally, and perhaps most fundamentally, the rights of the individual need to take precedence. Antiretroviral treatment can cause serious side effects and can lead to drug resistance if not taken exactly as prescribed. Therefore an HIV positive person has the right to decide whether or not to take the treatment by weighing up the potential disadvantages and benefits for their own health.