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A string of HIV prevention
breakthroughs forms a hopeful backdrop to the 19th International AIDS
Conference next week in Washington.
Among approaches cited by
researchers as particularly significant:
*Treatment as prevention:
Antiretroviral therapy helps people with HIV remain healthy and cuts their risk
of transmitting the virus, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
*Pre-exposure prophylaxis: US
regulators this week approved the first drug to help protect uninfected people
at high risk of sexual HIV exposure. PrEP studies have found those who took the
pills faithfully could dramatically reduce their infection risk.
*Test and treat: Boosting testing
and the proportion of those infected who receive treatment not only helps
people with HIV, viral levels in the community also are generally lower, said
Diane Havlir, a University of California-San Francisco professor and AIDS
researcher.
*Adult male circumcision: Groups in
Africa are offering the procedure to men as a way to cut their HIV risk.
*Microbicides: Results from studies
of these experimental gels, to be applied by women before and after sex to
lower their risk of contracting HIV, have shown mixed results so far.
*Vaccines: Guido Silvestri, of the
Emory University School of Medicine, noted that a vaccine trial in Thailand
showed a 31 percent reduction in HIV infections - not enough for widespread
use, but a signal that vaccines could be effective in the future.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
