The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that everyone who tested positive for HIV should be treated with anti-retroviral drugs.
WHO previously said that treatment should only be done once the immune cell counts fall below a certain threshold but in its latest statement, the U.N. health agency pushed for early treatment.
The agency said that the new recommendations are based on new trials that suggest early treatment can keep HIV patients alive and healthier. It can also reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Based on the experience of charity group Doctors Without Borders, a third of those who were diagnosed with HIV but not eligible to begin treatment never returned to the clinic.
The new guidelines, which are part of the agency's goal to end the AIDS epidemic by the year 2030 recommend all people with substantial risk of getting infected with HIV to be given antiretroviral therapy, which means that this would not only include men who have sexual contact with other men.
"Expanding access to treatment is at the heart of a new set of targets set for 2030 with the aim to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030." WHO said in a statement. "These targets include 90 percent of people living with HIV being aware of their HIV infection, 90 percent of those receiving antiretroviral treatment, and 90 percent of people on ART having no detectable virus in their blood."
Under WHO's previous guidelines, 28 million people worldwide were considered eligible for anti-retroviral therapy (ART). The revamped recommendation means that 37 million people should get the treatment.
Since it started spreading three decades ago, AIDS has killed about 40 million globally. Implementing WHO's new guidelines is believed to prevent 28 million new infections and 21 million AIDS death by 2030.
Some experts commended the new guidelines but warned that implementation requires an overhaul of current strategies and considerable cash injection.
The prospect of treating all HIV patients in poor countries, for instance, can be unrealistic since many are not able to get medicines. Patients who live in these countries could be hampered by the cost of medicines. In 2014, only about 15 million HIV-infected individuals were treated.
"To work as a tool to control the epidemic, (these guidelines) will require drastic changes and increased investment," Tom Ellman, from Doctors Without Borders, told the Associated Press. "Nobody's going to end AIDS with business as usual."
Photo: Samantha Marx | Flickr
