WHO backs antiretroviral therapy upon HIV diagnosis and PrEP for at-risk groups

1 October 2015

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended anyone with HIV should begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) as soon as possible after they are diagnosed.

This would mean that based on the new guidelines, the number of people eligible for ART would go from 28 million to the 37 million people who live with HIV globally.

The WHO backed the use of ART in patients with particularly low immune cell counts in previous recommendations, but is now advocating treatment upon diagnosis. This is based on recent data from clinical trials showing early use of ART keeps people with HIV alive and lowers the risk of transferring the virus to sexual partners. ART upon diagnosis would sharply increase demand for medicines.

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