People with HIV who take HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load—a very low level of HIV in the blood—can stay healthy and have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners. This is sometimes called undetectable = untransmittable (U=U).
Can you transmit HIV if you take ARVs correctly?
You can't transmit HIV if you take ARVs correctly and are virally suppressed. Researchers once again confirmed: It’s impossible for HIV-positive people on treatment to transmit the virus through sex — this time among gay men.
Can I take other medicines if I have had HIV?
HIV medicine is recommended for all people with HIV, regardless of how long they’ve had the virus or how healthy they are. Talk to your health care provider about any medical conditions you may have or any other medicines you are taking.
Can people living with HIV transmit HIV to other people?
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.
When to start antiretroviral therapy for HIV?
Treatment guidelines. external icon. from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that a person with HIV begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) as soon as possible after diagnosis. Starting ART slows the progression of HIV and can keep you healthy for many years.
What is HIV treatment?
HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) involves taking medicine as prescribed by a health care provider. HIV treatment reduces the amount of...
When should I start HIV treatment?
Start HIV treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis. All people with HIV should take HIV treatment, no matter how long they’ve had HIV or how h...
What if I delay HIV treatment?
If you delay treatment, HIV will continue to harm your immune system. Delaying treatment will put you at higher risk for transmitting HIV to your p...
Are there different types of HIV treatment?
There are two types of HIV treatment: pills and shots. Pills are recommended for people who are just starting HIV treatment. There are many FDA-app...
What are HIV treatment shots?
HIV treatment shots are long-acting injections used to treat people with HIV. The shots are given by your health care provider and require routine...
Can I switch my HIV treatment from pills to shots?
Talk to your health care provider about changing your HIV treatment plan. Shots may be right for you if you are an adult with HIV who has an undete...
What are the benefits of taking my HIV treatment as prescribed?
HIV treatment reduces the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load). Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low. HIV t...
Does HIV treatment cause side effects?
HIV treatment can cause side effects in some people. However, not everyone experiences side effects. The most common side effects are Nausea and vo...
What should I do if I’m thinking about having a baby?
Let your health care provider know if you or your partner is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. They will determine the right type of HIV...
Can I take birth control while on HIV treatment?
You can use any method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. However, some HIV treatment may make hormone-based birth control less effective. Talk...
What Is Viral Suppression
Antiretroviral therapy keeps HIV from making copies of itself. When a person living with HIV begins an antiretroviral treatment regimen, their viral load drops. For almost everyone who starts taking their HIV medication daily as prescribed, viral load will drop to an undetectable level in six months or less.
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Use new, clean syringes and injection equipment every time you inject.
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Does Contraception Increase Womens Risk Of Hiv
Observational research studies in the past had suggested a possible increased risk of HIV for women using progestogen-only injectable contraception, such as DMPA intra-muscular injection, also known as Depo-Provera.
What Is Hiv And How Is It Transmitted
HIV is a virus that can weaken the immune system to the point that it is unable to control some infections.
What We Know About Anal Sex
Anal sex is the riskiest type of sex for getting or transmitting HIV. Although receptive anal sex is much riskier for getting HIV than insertive anal sex, its possible for either partnerthe insertive or receptiveto get HIV.
Talk With Your Hiv Health Care Provider
Talk with your health care provider about the benefits of HIV treatment and which HIV medication is right for you. Discuss how frequently you should get your viral load tested to make sure it remains undetectable.
What does it mean when your HIV is suppressed?
Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. HIV medicine can make the viral load so low that a test can’t detect it (called an undetectable viral load ). If your viral load goes down after starting HIV treatment, that means treatment is working.
What is the amount of HIV in the blood called?
The amount of HIV in the blood is called viral load . Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed will help keep your viral load low and your CD4 cell count high. HIV medicine can make the viral load very low (called viral suppression ). Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.
What does it mean when your viral load goes down after HIV treatment?
If your viral load goes down after starting HIV treatment, that means treatment is working. Continue to take your medicine as prescribed.
How does treatment help prevent HIV?
Having an undetectable viral load may also help prevent transmission from injection drug use.
How long does it take for a mother to give her baby HIV?
If a mother with HIV takes HIV medicine as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and gives HIV medicine to her baby for 4 to 6 weeks after birth, the risk of transmitting HIV to her baby can be 1% or less.
Why is it important to take HIV medication?
Taking HIV medication consistently, as prescribed, helps prevent drug resistance. Drug resistance develops when people with HIV are inconsistent with taking their HIV medication as prescribed. The virus can change (mutate) and will no longer respond to certain HIV medication. If you develop drug resistance, it will limit your options ...
How long does it take to get rid of HIV?
There is no effective cure for HIV. But with proper medical care, you can control HIV. Most people can get the virus under control within six months. Taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission ...
How many people in South Africa are on ARVs?
Health department data shows that 4.4 million people in the country are on ARVs.
How many awards has Mia Malan won?
Under her leadership, Bhekisisa’s online readership increased 30 fold and its donor funding eightfold between 2013 and 2019. Malan has won more than 20 African journalism awards for her work and is a former fellow of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. Mia Malan.
What is the largest study among HIV-positive gay men?
That is what the world’s largest study among HIV-positive gay men, who are on effective antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, has found. The results were revealed at the 22nd International Aids conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Can ARVs cure HIV?
Although ARVs cannot cure someone from HIV, the medication, if taken as prescribed, suppresses the replication of the virus. Unaids’ 90:90:90 treatment goals aim to have 90% of people who know they’re HIV positive, and who are on ARVs, virally suppressed by 2020.
Can HIV be suppressed?
HIV-positive partners had to be on ARV treatment and, as a result be virally suppressed. Studies have shown that people are virally suppressed when treatment has reduced the amount of HIV in their bodies to such low levels that most viral load testing can’t detect it.
Can you transmit HIV if you take ARVs?
You can’t transmit HIV if you take ARVs correctly and are virally suppressed. In the late 2000s, a trio of businessmen smuggled expired ARVs from Africa into Europe and sold them at a 4 000% markup. This is why it’s news now. (Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters)
Does U=U protect against HIV?
Although U=U does not protect someone against unwanted pregnancies or contracting other sexually transmitted infections, it does protect them against contracting HIV.
How does HIV medicine affect the immune system?
If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine reduces the amount of HIV in the body ( viral load) to a very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness. This is called viral suppression —defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood.
What is HIV medicine?
HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy, or ART. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine reduces the amount of HIV in the body ( viral load) to a very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness.
How does HIV help you stay healthy?
Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load * is the best thing people with HIV can do to stay healthy. Another benefit of reducing the amount of virus in the body is that it helps prevent transmission to others through sex or syringe sharing, and from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding.
What is the number to call for HIV testing?
Provides clinicians with around-the-clock advice on indications and interpretations of HIV testing in pregnancy, and consultation on antiretroviral use during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. 1-888-448-8765 | 24 hours, seven days a week.
Can HIV be transmitted to HIV-negative partners?
A person with HIV who takes HIV medicine as prescribed and gets and stays virally suppressed or undetectable can stay healthy and has effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners.
Can HIV be transmitted to a baby?
Substantially reduces, but does not eliminate risk. Current recommendation in the United States is that mothers with HIV should not breastfeed their infants. † The risk of transmitting HIV to the baby can be 1% or less if the mother takes HIV medicine daily as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and gives HIV medicine ...
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How long does it take for HIV to be suppressed?
People who start treatment for HIV with so-called antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be virally suppressed within 12 to 24 weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Who endorsed the AIDS United consensus statement?
AIDS United also endorsed a consensus statement last year issued by the Prevention Access Campaign that made a similar determination about the risk of HIV transmission when the virus is suppressed.
Why is Johnson calling for laws and policies regarding HIV in the U.S. to be modernized?
It also calls for laws and policies regarding HIV in the U.S. to be modernized to reflect current science. Johnson said such changes, along with public knowledge that people living with HIV can’t transmit the infection while on treatment and virally suppressed, will reduce stigma.
How many people in the US have HIV?
Over 1.2 million people in the U.S. are currently living with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 86 percent are aware of their diagnosis, 37 percent are on treatment to stop the virus from replicating and 30 percent are virally suppressed.
Can people with HIV transmit the virus?
People on treatment with suppressed HIV levels can't transmit virus: HIV/AIDS group. (Reuters Health) - When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is successfully suppressed by medication, people with HIV can’t transmit the virus to others, according to a coalition of community health and HIV/AIDS organizations.
Can HIV be suppressed?
This week, the AIDS United Public Policy Committee issued a statement that said virally suppressed people on treatment can’t pass HIV to others, ...
How does HIV affect a mother?
It reduces the risk of mother-to-child transmission from pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If a woman living with HIV can take HIV medication as prescribed throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and if HIV medication is given to her baby for 4-6 weeks after delivery, the risk of transmission from pregnancy, labor, and delivery can be reduced to 1% or less. Scientists don’t know if a woman living with HIV who has her HIV under control can transmit HIV to her baby through breastfeeding. While it isn’t known if or how much being undetectable or virally suppressed prevents some ways that HIV is transmitted, it is reasonable to assume that it provides some risk reduction.
Why is it called viral suppression?
It is called viral suppression because HIV medication prevents the virus from growing in your body and keeps the virus very low or “suppressed.”. Viral suppression helps keep you healthy and prevents illness.
How long does it take for HIV to be undetectable?
Almost everyone who takes HIV medication daily as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment. There are important health benefits to getting the viral load as low as possible. People living with HIV who know their status, take HIV medication daily as prescribed, ...
What is it called when your viral load is low?
If your viral load is so low that it doesn’t show up in a standard lab test, this is called having an undetectable viral load . People living with HIV can get and keep an undetectable viral load by taking HIV medication every day, exactly as prescribed.
Why is it important to take HIV medication?
Taking HIV Medication to Stay Healthy and Prevent Transmission. If you have HIV, it is important to start treatment with HIV medication (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) as soon as possible after your diagnosis. If taken every day, exactly as prescribed, HIV medication can reduce the amount of HIV in your blood (also called the viral load) ...
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Is HIV treatment good for women?
If a woman living with HIV can take HIV medication as ...
What is the HIV load?
By Linda Rath. Medically Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on June 02, 2020. When you have HIV, your viral load is the amount of virus in your blood and body fluids. It’s usually highest when you first find out that you have it. HIV medicine called antiretroviral therapy ( ART) slows or stops the virus from growing.
What is the treatment for HIV?
HIV medicine called antiretroviral therapy ( ART) slows or stops the virus from growing. When you take it every day as prescribed, your viral load should come down to a very low level. That can keep you healthy for years.
How to keep virus at bay?
To keep it at bay, take your medicine every day, just as your doctor prescribes. If you skip doses or stop treatment, your viral load can go up quickly. The chance that you can transmit the virus to your partners also goes way up.
Can HIV spread from needles?
HIV can spread when you share needles to inject drugs. Your odds of infection may be less if you: Use clean equipment every time you inject. Don't share needles. Take HIV medicine. Maintain an undetectable viral load. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Email Print.
Is viral load a free pass?
An undetectable viral load isn't a free pass. There are still important details that you must keep in mind.
Can HIV be passed through breast milk?
These measures help ensure you won’t pass the virus to your newborn. No one knows if HIV can spread through breast milk. There’s probably less chance of this if you have an undetectable viral load, but it's not for sure. Talk to your doctor about what’s best for you and your baby.
Can a lab test detect a viral load?
Eventually, you want to have an undetectable viral load -- one so low that a lab test can’t find it. When you have an undetectable viral load, you can’t spread the virus to your sexual partner (s). Even when you reach that point, you must remember that the virus is still in your body.
