
A main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.
What are the goals of HIV treatment?
A main goal of HIV treatment is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected by a viral load test.
How do HIV treatments work?
While all HIV treatments may work differently, their goals are the same: Reduce your viral load Viral load is a measure of the amount of HIV in your blood. It is most often measured in copies of HIV per 1 milliliter (mL) of blood:
What is the treatment for HIV called?
The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART can’t cure HIV, but HIV medicines help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
When should you develop a treatment plan for HIV?
Working with your health care provider to develop a treatment plan will help you learn more about HIV and manage it effectively. When Should You Start HIV Treatment? Treatment guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that a person living with HIV begin ART as soon as possible after diagnosis.

What are the three main goals of HIV treatment?
The guidelines state that the primary goals of antiretroviral therapy are to maintain maximal suppression of the viral load (i.e., fewer than 50 copies per mL), restore or preserve immunologic function, improve quality of life and reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality.
What is the recommended treatment of HIV infection?
The most effective treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is a combination of several medicines that aims to control the amount of virus in your body. Antiretroviral medicines slow the rate at which the virus grows.
Which are the two main goals of antiretroviral therapy ART )?
Introduction. The primary goal of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to prevent HIV-associated morbidity and mortality.
What are the five goals of antiretroviral therapy?
Thus, once initiated, ART should be continued, with the following key treatment goals:Maximally and durably suppress plasma HIV RNA;Restore and preserve immunologic function;Reduce HIV-associated morbidity and prolong the duration and quality of survival; and.Prevent HIV transmission.
What is antiretroviral treatment and what are the benefits?
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection using a combination of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. ARV drugs do not 'kill' HIV virus but prevents HIV virus from multiplying and destroying infection fighting CD4 (soldier of the body) cells.
What does antiretroviral therapy treat?
HIV is treated with antiretroviral medicines, which work by stopping the virus replicating in the body. This allows the immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. A combination of HIV drugs is used because HIV can quickly adapt and become resistant.
What is the treatment for HIV?
HIV treatment involves taking medicines that slow the progression of the virus in your body. HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, and the combination of drugs used to treat it is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is recommended for all people living with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are.
Why do you prescribe HIV?
Your health care provider may prescribe medicines to prevent certain infections. HIV treatment is most likely to be successful when you know what to expect and are committed to taking your medicines exactly as prescribed.
What is drug resistance in HIV?
What Is HIV Drug Resistance? Drug resistance can be a cause of treatment failure for people living with HIV. As HIV multiplies in the body, it sometimes mutates (changes form) and produces variations of itself. Variations of HIV that develop while a person is taking ART can lead to drug-resistant strains of HIV.
How long do HIV side effects last?
Some side effects can occur once you start a medicine and may only last a few days or weeks.
How soon can you start ART for HIV?
Treatment guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that a person living with HIV begin ART as soon as possible after diagnosis. Starting ART slows the progression of HIV and can keep you healthy for many years.
Is HIV treatment a prevention?
There is also a major prevention benefit. People living with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. This is called treatment as prevention.
Can HIV be drug resistant?
A person can initially be infected with drug-resistant HIV or develop drug-resistant HIV after starting HIV medicines. Drug-resistant HIV also can spread from person to person. Drug-resistance testing identifies which, if any, HIV medicines won’t be effective against your specific strain of HIV.
Vision and Goals
The Strategy articulates a clear vision to guide the nation’s response to HIV:
Development Process
ONAP developed the updated Strategy in the latter half of 2021, informed by significant input from community stakeholders, including people living with HIV, and supported by federal partners from nine federal Departments whose programs, policies, services, or activities contribute to our national response to HIV.
Implementing the Strategy
ONAP will work with federal partners in early 2022 to produce a Federal Implementation Plan that documents specific actions that federal departments and agencies will take to achieve the Strategy’s goals and objectives. Progress toward meeting the Strategy’s goals will be monitored and reported annually.
Learn More
View a video of the NHAS release at the 2021 White House World AIDS Day event .
