Antiviral Treatment for All HIV-Positive Patients

People newly diagnosed as HIV positive should start drug treatment right away, says a group of experts. The International Antiviral Society presented the guidelines July 22 at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. They will be published in the July 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The guidelines say that even HIV-positive people with healthy immune systems should take antiviral drugs. The drugs are now stronger, easier to take and safer, the guidelines say. The drugs don’t get rid of the virus, but they can keep it from replicating. This keeps people healthier for longer periods. It also reduces the risk that HIV-positive people will transmit the virus to others.