ARV helps prevent HIV transmission through sex: CDC doctor
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Vietnam has announced a type of medicine that helps prevent the transmission of HIV through sexual intercourse.
Dr. John Blandford, director of the CDC’s HIV and TB program in Vietnam, said on Thursday that the antiretroviral drug (ARV) is the best method to prevent the virus from being transmitted via sex.
Researchers conducted a survey on 1,800 heterosexual couples in Africa, Asia, and America for a period of 10 years.
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| Anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs sit on a shelf in a pharmacy. Photo: Reuters |
The results showed that none of the partners of HIV-positive participants were infected, as long as HIV–RNA levels are below 200 copies per millimeter.
A similar outcome was also concluded following a survey on nearly 1,200 homosexual couples across 14 European countries.
Another research tracking about 58,000 unprotected sexual intercourse instances over many years, in which the annual tendency for heterosexual men was 35 times, heterosexual women was 36 times, and homosexual men was 42 times, also showed a zero rate of transmission.
HIV-positive people who are being treated with ARV have low viral load levels, thus the chance of transmission through sexual acts is inconsiderable.
A patient will need a six-month treatment to keep their HIV–RNA level at the minimum, Dr. Blandford said.
In Vietnam, more than 123,000 out of 200,000 HIV patients are being treated with ARV.
The Ministry of Health has set up a goal to completely eradicate the HIV epidemic in the country by 2030, meaning no new patient will have been reported by that year.
The first step is to provide ARV treatment to all HIV-positive individuals in the country to prevent transmission.
