AIDS epidemic can be eradicated in a decade: Study

Geneva, Switzerland, November 28: A new study claims that the deadly virus HIV can be easily eradicated from the countries afflicted by high HIV infection rates and subsequent deaths in a decade’s time, if testing is done and appropriate treatment is given to affected people on a regular basis.

Under the leadership of Charlie Gilks, expert in AIDS treatment at the World Health Organization, this study has reviewed the data of countries with high infection rates namely, South Africa and Malawi.

It is one of the longest studies ever conducted on any deadly infections like HIV. Under the study, every year people used to be tested and treated immediately if found infected with HIV positive. This course was followed for even those people, who otherwise did not show any symptoms of being infected but were still suffering with the disease.

It was found in the end of the study that the infection rates had declined by 95 percent within a time-span of 10 years.

Based on this finding, it can be said that the projected number of deaths, 8.7 million, due to AIDS can be reduced to about 3.9 million between 2008 and 2050.

At the same time, many experts feel that this strategy has some inherent difficulties, like need of immediate medication to all those who are detected with HIV positive, so that the infection does not spread to others. If this is not done within a certain time span, the strategy would not work effectively.

Dr. Donna Mildvan, chief of infectious diseases at Beth Israel Medical Center and professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said, "It may or may not work but it puts on the table some very intriguing possibilities that ought to be fully explored…If you can control the virus with medications, then you can reduce transmission of the virus from person to person. Of course, that depends on everyone taking their medicines religiously every day, and that is millions of people."

Dr. Antonio Urbina, medical director of HIV/AIDS Education and Training at St. Vincent's Hospital, cautioned that the drugs may have toxic effects in addition to the other side effects and a person may begin to completely depend on these toxic and addictive drugs, which is a harmful aspect of the strategy.

However, Mildvan held that the chances of spreading the epidemic would decrease drastically with every treated patient.

This study that stemmed from a new mathematical model got published in Nov. 25 issue of the medical journal, The Lancet.