New San Francisco guidelines for HIV treatment may halve number of new infections

Many medical professions do not recommend that HIV patients begin antiretroviral treatment until the disease has somewhat progressed. However, a recent study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease indicates that providing these medications immediately after diagnosis may help significantly reduce the number of new HIV infections among homosexual men in San Francisco.

Treatment recommendations may vary based on different clinicians, the investigators said. Some professionals wait until their patients' CD4 cell counts drop below 500 cells per microliter to prescribe the drugs.

According to the researchers, men who have sex with men account for about 75 percent of HIV reports among San Francisco residents annually.

The scientists' findings showed that prescribing antiretrovirals to infected men at the time of diagnosis reduced that number of new HIV cases by 59 percent over five years. Moreover, the results indicated that combining this with annual sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing at yearly physicals decreased new reports among the gay demographic by more than 75 percent.

"Our findings show that we can obtain even greater reductions in new HIV infections if we do a better job of encouraging people to get tested, continue to improve our linkages to care and offer treatment to all HIV patients," lead researcher Diane V. Havlir said.