Groundbreaking HIV Treatment Trial Welcomed

MEDIA RELEASE: 13 May 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Groundbreaking HIV Treatment Trial Welcomed

A trial that showed antiretroviral treatment to be 96% effective in reducing sexual transmission of HIV is being closely examined by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) for its potential to make a difference here. Hailed as “a serious game changer” by Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, the results are the first from a major randomised clinical trial that show that treating an HIV-infected person can reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV to an uninfected heterosexual partner.

Shaun Robinson, NZAF Executive Director, says “Internationally, 80% of HIV is transmitted sexually, but in New Zealand that figure is much higher so we’re very interested in these results. However, to begin treatment for HIV, a person has to have been diagnosed and getting an HIV test is the only way to do that. In New Zealand, a considerable number of people don’t get tested for HIV until their infection is very advanced so testing would have to become a much higher priority if there’s to be any chance of this approach being effective here.”

Most HIV testing in New Zealand occurs in GP offices. Since the NZAF introduced rapid testing, a free service that produces a result in ten minutes; there has been a 600% increase in the number of people being tested at NZAF regional centres. However, the number of New Zealander’s from the communities most at risk of HIV being tested is still low.

Robinson concludes, “We’re excited by these results but realistic too. It’s much better not to get HIV at all, and the most effective way to prevent HIV is to use condoms and lube when you’re having sex. However, these results suggest that early HIV testing and treatment will strengthen our response to the HIV epidemic.”

ENDS

NOTES TO JOURNALISTS

• The trial was conducted by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in the US.
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• The trial results exclude gay and bisexual men who account for more than 75% of HIV diagnoses where HIV was contracted in New Zealand.

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