Early drug treatment greatly cuts spread of HIV


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(Reuters) - Men and women infected with the AIDS virus who take antiretroviral drugs immediately rather than waiting to become more ill dramatically cut the risk of infecting a sexual partner, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

The findings in the study conducted in nine countries are expected to energize global efforts to slow the AIDS virus. The study showed that taking these drugs does not only slow the virus in people already infected, but makes these people far less infectious and far less likely to spread HIV to others.

The landmark study, mostly involving heterosexual couples, found a 96 percent reduction in HIV transmission to an uninfected sexual partner when antiretroviral drug treatment began early, before a person's immune system begins to weaken under the onslaught of the virus.

"The findings of this study strongly indicate that treating an individual with antiretroviral drugs sooner rather than later can have a significant impact on reducing the risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner," said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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