Global Experts Laud Treatment as Prevention Strategy to Combat HIV and AIDS

published on October 25, 2011

Special Edition of Current HIV Research Highlights Effectiveness of HIV Strategy Pioneered in British Columbia and Endorsed Around the World

Vancouver, British Columbia (October 25, 2011): Current HIV Research, which covers the latest and key developments in HIV research, has dedicated its September issue to detailing the successes of the Treatment as Prevention strategy and the need to expand it across the globe.

The special issue is co-edited by guest editors Dr. Julio Montaner, Director, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and Marianne Harris, MD, Clinical Research Advisor for the AIDS Research Program at St. Paul's Hospital and the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, BC.

“The enormous potential of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to save lives and prevent new HIV and TB infections underscores the urgency of achieving universal access to this life-saving therapy,” said Dr. Montaner and Dr. Harris in an editorial contained in the special edition. “It is now clear that expanded access to HAART should be the cornerstone of evidence-based combination prevention strategies.”

The Treatment as Prevention strategy advocates for widespread HIV testing and access to free highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for all medically eligible HIV-positive individuals. Current HIV treatment reduces the level of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels, improving the health of people with HIV. At the same time, HAART decreases the level of HIV in sexual fluids to undetectable levels, reducing the likelihood of HIV transmission by more than 95 per cent.

Ten articles in the most recent issue of Current HIV Research detail the evidence supporting Treatment as Prevention from clinical trials, mathematical models, and population-based studies, and call for further support and resources from government and the private sector to ensure that everyone who requires HIV treatment receives it.

In his closing commentary in Current HIV Research, Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), noted that science has seen dramatic advances over the past year related to Treatment as Prevention.

“We have a set of effective tools to stop the transmission of the virus and to keep people living with HIV healthy and productive,” said Sidibé. “It is now the collective responsibility of researchers and implementers, of governments, the private sector and civil society to identify and overcome the challenges and translate the science into real results for people.”

For free access to articles related to Treatment as Prevention, please click here.

About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility and is internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. It is based at St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key provincial stakeholders, including Health Authorities, health care providers, academics from other institutions, and the community to improve the health of British Columbians living with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related illnesses.

Starting in the early 2000s, the BC-CfE pioneered the "Treatment as Prevention" strategy, which promotes increased testing and facilitated access to antiretroviral treatment for all medically eligible HIV-positive people in order to stop the progression of HIV infection to AIDS or death, and simultaneously halt the spread of HIV and AIDS. Treatment as Prevention is recognized and supported internationally by organizations including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, China has implemented a national HIV and AIDS policy based on the BC-CfE’s Treatment as Prevention strategy.

In February 2010, the B.C. government funded and launched a $48-million pilot project called Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS (STOP HIV/AIDS) to further capitalize on the early gains associated with the BC-CfE’s Treatment as Prevention strategy. Led by the BC-CfE, this four-year initiative will be implemented in collaboration with provincial stakeholders to improve access to HIV testing, treatment, and support services in designated areas within British Columbia.

For additional information or to request a media interview, please contact:

Mahafrine Petigara

Edelman (for BC-CfE)

604-623-3007 ext. 297

mahafrine.petigara@edelman.com

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Global Experts Laud Treatment as Prevention Strategy to Combat HIV and AIDS

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