Viral load tests ‘could transform HIV treatment failure’

The WHO has issued new HIV recommendations based on the latest research. Released yesterday (30 November), on the eve of World AIDS Day, the recommendations cover HIV treatment, prevention and infant feeding. The WHO now advocates starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) when the number of CD4 immune cells in a patient's blood — an indicator of immune system strength — falls to 350 cells per millilitre. In 2006, when the last set of recommendations was issued, the WHO advised starting ART at 200 CD4 cells per millilitre or lower, the point when patients start to exhibit disease symptoms. But research in the past three years has shown that early ART can reduce death rates. "We now have significant evidence and experience on when to start treatment, what drugs to use [in adults and adolescents] and what drugs to use for the prevention of mother–child transmission," Teguest Guerma, head of the WHO's HIV department, told SciDev.Net. "We have gathered a lot of evidence since 2006." Read more...