Shots - Health Blog Thu September 6, 2012 'Test And Treat'
Strategy For Curbing HIV Draws Questions San Francisco is trying
a new tactic to fight AIDS. Health workers are aggressively
testing people for HIV and then immediately putting those who
test positive on potent antiretroviral drugs. Known as "test and
treat," the approach relies on the fact that taking HIV drugs
dramatically reduces a person's risk of transmitting the virus
to others. As more and more people are put on medication, the
epidemic theoretically should fizzle out. Test and treat sounds
good on paper, but some doctors and policymakers have doubts
about its feasibility on a large scale. An analysis just
published in the journal PLOSOne questions whether test and
treat is the best strategy in developing countries, such as
South Africa, where getting drugs to many people is difficult
and the rise of drug resistance is a potential problem. The
results bolster support for the current HIV guidelines set by
the World Health Organization, which rec