People who maintain an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV says BC’s Julio Montaner

Our Samantha reports on a recent encounter with Canada’s leading expert on the impact of antiretroviral therapy, who confirms the Undetectable = Uninfectious message that people living with HIV have been waiting for

I was recently present at McGill University in Montreal to hear Dr Julio Montaner speak about Treatment as Prevention (TasP).

For those who are not aware, Dr. Montaner is a well known Argentinian-born Canadian physician, professor, researcher and a strong advocate for people living with HIV. He is the Director of the British Columbia Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the chair in AIDS Research and Head of the Division of AIDS in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and the past president of the International AIDS Society. He is the Director of the John Ruedy Immunodeficiency Clinic and the Physician Program Director for HIV/AIDS at Providence Health Center.

One of his most important accomplishments has been in the development of ART, originally a triple drug cocktail which he worked on and implemented in 1996 to stop HIV from progressing into AIDS, which in turn extended life span and reduced HIV related deaths.

In 2014 Dr. Montaner helped draft an ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic – the 90-90-90 target, which has since been adopted by UNAIDS and many countries including Canada. and by the Pope, among many others. This goal challenges us that by the year 2020, 90% of the population will have been tested for HIV, 90% of those who test positive for HIV will be on treatment and that 90% of those on treatment will have achieved viral supression. When this three-part target is achieved, at least 73% of all people living with HIV worldwide will be virally suppressed by the year 2030.

His statement on transmission risk is simple – people on treatment for HIV, who are in regular medical care, and maintain an undetectable viral load (the amount of the virus found in the blood) cannot transmit the virus.

When implemented, his strategy over the past 15 years has been responsible for the elimination of vertical transmission (parent to child) of HIV in British Columbia. His statement is backed up by two significant studies – the PARTNER Study and the START Study. The outcome of his treatment in the province of British Columbia where HIV rates have dropped drastically, making British Columbia a model for the rest of Canada and the world is more than enough proof that treatment as prevention works.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below