Family Encyclopedia >> Health

Medication can prevent HIV transmission

HIV patients who start taking medication early reduce the risk of infecting partners.

Research by the American Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows that taking virus inhibitors early can reduce the chance of HIV transmission by 96 percent

Start immediately
The scientists examined 1763 people with HIV and their healthy partners , on four different continents. One half of HIV patients immediately started taking the virus inhibitors , the other half waited until the first health complaints.

During the study, 28 partners became infected with the disease. Only one of them got the virus from someone who had immediately started with the virus inhibitors

Read also:gene discovered that protects against HIV>

Faster medicines
People with HIV often only start taking medication when their health deteriorates † It is now clear that the drugs can also prevent transmission. Medication should therefore be started immediately after discovery of the virus.