PARIS, May 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – HIV-suppressing medication can make the AIDS
virus “untransmittable” even among couples who have sex without using
condoms, new research showed Friday.
The Europe-wide study monitored nearly 1,000 gay male couples over a period
of eight years, where one partner was HIV-positive and receiving
antiretroviral (ART) treatment, while the other was HIV negative.
Doctors did not find a single case of in-couple HIV transmission within
that time, raising hopes that widespread ART programmes could eventually end
new infections.
“Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV
transmission with suppressive ART is zero,” said Alison Rodger, from
University College London, who co-lead the research published in The Lancet.
“They support the message… that an undetectable viral load makes HIV
untransmittable. This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by
preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that
many people with HIV face.”
Researchers estimate that ART prevented around 470 HIV transmissions within
couples during the study period.
HIV and the fatal illnesses it provokes remain one of the world’s largest
health crises despite much progress in recent years.
More than 21 million people currently receive regular ART medication, which
suppresses the virus — only around 59 percent of global HIV sufferers.
The authors of the study noted several limitations, including that the
average age of the HIV-negative men was 38. Most HIV transmissions occur in
people aged under 25.
Individuals currently on ART must take medication almost every day for the
rest of their lives, and treatment is often disrupted for a variety of
reasons.
But the fact that couples can have unprotected sex for years without
passing on the virus was still worth noting, experts said.
“Timely identification of HIV-infected people and provision of effective
treatment leads to near normal health and virtual elimination of the risk of
HIV transmission,” said Myron Cohen, from the UNC Institute of Global Health
and Infectious Diseases.
“Yet maximising the benefits of ART has proven daunting: fear, stigma,
homophobia, and other adverse social forces continue to compromise HIV
treatment.”