Stakes are high as the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), ends in Durban, South Africa.

As scientists, policymakers, world leaders and people living with HIV round-up discussions at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), in Durban, South Africa, it is with pleasure that these stakeholders elaborate the advances made in the treatment of HIV.

Information indicates a revolutionized antiretroviral therapy- HIV treatment in the past few decades. Newer improvements, like one-pill-a-day drugs, are making life with HIV easier and safer. The Medical Director of the HIV/AIDS Division at San Francisco General Hospital, Brad Hare says now HIV is like diabetes or high blood pressure, as long as the individual manages it well, he is expected to live longer and healthy.

Although there are lots of myths, outdated information about HIV treatment, information reveals that the one combination pill-Atripla, Complera, or Stribild is easier to take than it used to be.

Three Times A week Atripla

Studies on the three times a week Atripla suggests that it might be possible to take a single tablet of HIV treatment just three times a week and continue to maintain an undetectable viral load. The approach now needs to be tried out in a larger group of people and for a longer length of time.

Scientists say there are many reasons why people would prefer to take HIV treatment less often, including concerns about side-effects. However, it is noted that this kind of approach would not work with all anti-HIV drugs. Some drugs are cleared by the body quite quickly, meaning that they definitely need to be taken once or twice a day.

Weekly injections

Another study reveals a new treatment (weekly injections) that blocks HIV entering into cells. This only works for individuals who have a strain of HIV which uses the CCR5 co-receptor to enter cells. The study indicates that people who already had an undetectable viral load stopped taking their existing HIV treatment and started to have injections once a week. But of 14 people who took the injections for over a year, ten were able to maintain an undetectable viral load. 

Reducing HIV treatment to an injection once a week will be attractive for many people. But the approach needs to be tested in much larger studies. The current Durban conference will draw attention to those being left behind in the treatment, prevention, care and support services to HIV patients.