Treatment as Prevention

1 Optimism and respect: Writing the story of Treatment as Prevention (TasP) Introduction There is a new optimistic message from a growing number of clinicians, politicians and PLHIV: “HIV is different now”1 . The scientific understanding of HIV... More

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Optimism and respect:
Writing the story of Treatment as Prevention (TasP)
Introduction
There is a new optimistic message from a growing number of clinicians, politicians and PLHIV:
“HIV is different now”1
.
The scientific understanding of HIV transmission and antiretroviral treatment has evolved
considerably over the past few years: there is hope to further improve health outcomes for
PLHIV with early initiation of treatment.
A lot of excitement has also been generated by the discovery that an undetectable viral load as
a result of early treatment (with a CD4 count between 350 and 550) has the potential to reduce
the risk of passing on HIV to a regular sexual partner by 96%2
.
Much like the virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission as a result of treatment in
resource-rich settings, the community is now excited by another biomedical prevention
opportunity: providing early and accessible treatment can make a significant contribution to
the virtual eliminatio Less