via Plus News
HIV-positive Rwandans in discordant relationships will start taking antiretroviral treatment (ART) as soon as they test positive as part of a plan to boost national HIV prevention and treatment efforts.
"There is evidence that antiretroviral treatment, once started early for eligible HIV-positive patients, alleviates their suffering and reduces the devastating impact of the pandemic," Anita Asiimwe, head of the Institute of HIV/AIDS Disease Prevention and Control, told IRIN/PlusNews. "Antiretroviral therapy has the potential both to reduce mortality and morbidity rates among HIV-infected people, and to improve their quality of life."
In May 2011, a landmark study - HPTN 052 - showed major reductions in HIV transmission among discordant couples due to early treatment. The authors of the nine-country study concluded that earlier initiation of HIV treatment led to a 96 percent reduction in HIV transmission to the uninfected partner.
According to the government, an estimated 7.1 percent of cohabiting couples seeking voluntary counselling and testing services in the capital, Kigali, are HIV discordant. Infections within stable relationships have been identified as one of the main sources of new cases in Rwanda.
Read the rest.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]
HIV-positive Rwandans in discordant relationships will start taking antiretroviral treatment (ART) as soon as they test positive as part of a plan to boost national HIV prevention and treatment efforts. "There is evidence that antiretroviral treatment, once started early for eligible HIV-positive patients, alleviates their suffering and reduces the devastating impact of the pandemic," Anita Asiimwe, head of the Institute of HIV/AIDS Disease Prevention and Control, told IRIN/PlusNews. "Antiretroviral therapy has the potential both to reduce mortality and morbidity rates among HIV-infected people, and to improve their quality of life."
In May 2011, a landmark study - HPTN 052 - showed major reductions in HIV transmission among discordant couples due to early treatment. The authors of the nine-country study concluded that earlier initiation of HIV treatment led to a 96 percent reduction in HIV transmission to the uninfected partner.
According to the government, an estimated 7.1 percent of cohabiting couples seeking voluntary counselling and testing services in the capital, Kigali, are HIV discordant. Infections within stable relationships have been identified as one of the main sources of new cases in Rwanda.
Read the rest.
[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]
No comments:
Post a Comment