HAART as HIV Prevention Technique

Individuals on Treatment Less Likely to Pass on Virus

Pills - Jamie Robertson

A recent study done by British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS has recently found that providing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to HIV-positive individuals could reduce the spread of HIV by as much as 60%.

The basic science behind this discovery is that HIV-positive individuals with a high viral load are more likely to spread the virus than those with a lower viral load. HAART reduces the viral load in blood, semen, and vaginal fluid. This same principle has been applied to mother-to-child transmission of HIV for many years. Pregnant women receiving HAART are less likely to give birth to infected children.

Several studies around the world have been done on discordant couples, couples where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative. These studies have shown that when the HIV-positive partner’s viral load has dropped significantly due to HAART, the HIV-negative partner’s risk of becoming infected decreases. One such study, done in Taiwan, found that after free access to HAART became available, new HIV cases dropped by 53%.

The Canadian researchers also developed a mathematical model to determine the affect providing HAART could have on the overall number of new HIV cases. If 75% of HIV-positive individuals in British Columbia were provided with HAART, the annual number of new HIV cases could drop by 30%. If 100% of HIV-positive individuals were provided with HAART, the annual number of new HIV cases could drop by as much as 60%.

More Work to Be Done

Further studies are being conducted by the HIV Prevention Trials Network of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to determine whether starting treatment early makes in difference in the transmission of HIV from a positive individual to the uninfected partner. The study is taking place in six countries with 1,750 discordant couples. Results from this study will not be available for at least five years.

The Swiss National AIDS Commission released a statement suggesting that HIV-individuals taking HAART who had an undetectable viral load were not infectious. Proving this statement will take many years of research and clinical trials before it becomes widely accepted in the scientific community; however, the announcement has fueled a debate that has lead to an increase in research on the possibilities of HIV/AIDS prevention through HAART.

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While the findings of this study are encouraging, researchers are quick to remind people that it is not a substitute for other prevention techniques. In addition, providing treatment will not be enough to stop the epidemic. The head of the British Columbia based study maintained that prevention techniques should involve a number of different interventions including education, use of condoms, and use of clean needles.