The widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy may
reduce the incidence of HIV in individuals and populations but
has been overlooked by public health as a prevention strategy,
write Dr. Julio Montaner and colleagues in CMAJ. Despite
advances in HIV treatment such as topical microbicides, pre- and
post-exposure treatment and male circumcision, HIV infections
continue to increase worldwide. Dr. Montaner and co-authors
argue that "expanded access to highly active antiretroviral
therapy for patients with a medical indication will reduce AIDS-
related illness and deaths and may reduce HIV incidence." "At
the population level, access to highly active antiretroviral
therapy has been temporally associated with substantial
reductions in HIV incidence. For example, population-based
research in Taiwan found a 53% reduction in new positive HIV
test results after the introduction of free access to highly
active antiretroviral therapy." The use of "treatment as an aid
to prevention" has been used in public heal