what doesit mean "treatment as prevention"

by Griffin Ruecker Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago

Treatment as prevention (TasP) is a concept in public health that promotes treatment as a way to prevent and reduce the likelihood of HIV illness, death and transmission from an infected individual to others.

Full Answer

What does prevention is better than cure mean?

I don't know the origin of the phrase, and on-line dictionaries aren't much help either. ...
At first, it was used in the sense of "good for you" (British: "good on you") or other encouraging words when one person stated their actions or goals to another.
When I've heard it in recent years, the usage is more one of "Do what you like. ...

What are the principles of treatment and Prevention?

What are the Principles of Treatment and Prevention. Principles of Treatment There are to ways to treat an infectious (communicable) disease.These are – To reduce the effects of the disease: It can be done by providing symptomatic treatment. We can provide treatment that will reduce the symptoms which are usually because of inflammation.

Is treatment the same thing as prevention?

Treatment as prevention is a new potential approach to help curb the growth of the HIV epidemic. If we take a step back, away from the science and all the questions about whether and how much it will work -- bringing more people into care is essential regardless of any prevention benefit.

Is prevention the best treatment?

Prevention is the best treatment and it costs less in lives and dollars. Are you or a loved one struggling with addiction? Call us at 541.504.9577. Substance Abuse Prevention. BestCare Prevention uses all six of the Prevention Strategies listed by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, which include:

Is PrEP treatment as prevention?

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74%.

How do you know if your viral load is undetectable?

How will I know if I am undetectable? By regular viral load monitoring. This is a blood test to measure how many particles of HIV there are in a small sample of your blood. If your viral load is under 200 copies per millilitre, you're considered virally suppressed and unable to pass HIV on.

How much viral load is undetectable?

When copies of HIV cannot be detected by standard viral load tests, an HIV-positive person is said to have an “undetectable viral load.” For most tests used clinically today, this means fewer than 50 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood (<50 copies/mL). Reaching an undetectable viral load is a key goal of ART. PrEP.

Is Undetectable the same as negative?

Being HIV positive and having an undetectable viral load would be considered the same thing as being HIV negative. Instead, we would frown upon those who don't know their status. Being HIV positive and having an undetectable viral load would be accepted, especially within the gay community.

Can I infect someone if my viral load is undetectable?

CDC Agrees That Person with Undetectable HIV Cannot Transmit the Virus. The agency has adopted the widely accepted position that an HIV-positive person with an undetectable viral load cannot pass the virus through unprotected sex. If you can't detect it, you can't transmit it.

Can I clean my stomach while on Arvs?

In general, yes. Short-term use of laxatives should be ok with your HIV medications.

Why is community based HIV prevention important?

Therefore, the community has an important role to play in ensuring that the human rights of people at risk for or living with HIV are safeguarded independent of the potential public health benefits of this approach .

When was the statement on ART as prevention?

Statement on ART as Prevention. In October 2009, international HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations wrote a statement directed at participants of an upcoming treatment as prevention Consultation hosted by the World Health Organization that was held in November.

How can HIV be reduced in a mother?

1 Treating the expectant mother with antiretroviral therapy reduce s the mother's viral load, thus potentially reducing the risk of transmission because the fetus is exposed to less virus in utero and during birth. However, the fetus also receives antiretroviral therapy while in the womb (as antiviral drugs penetrate the placenta) and the child may also receive antiviral drugs post birth. These forms of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis may also play a role in the reduction of vertical transmission from mother to child.

How does combination prevention work?

This approach utilizes a strategic combination of HIV prevention approaches to try to ensure that everyone in need has access to prevention messaging and programming when they need it. This means that program planners, with the knowledge of their communities, determine the best-case mix of programming to ensure that the fewest number of people fall through the holes in the safety net they have created by layering many different types of prevention programs.

Does antiretroviral therapy reduce the risk of sexual transmission?

The success of reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission through the use of antiretroviral treatment provides proof of concept ( not concrete evidence) that antiretroviral therapy may be able to reduce the risk of sexual transmission.

Does treatment eliminate virus?

For many people this reduction in the amount of virus may reduce infectivity (their ability to transmit the virus). However, we also know that treatment does not eliminate the virus from the body which means that the risk of transmission from one person to another is only potentially reduced and not eliminated.

Does HIV treatment reduce transmission?

Treating people living with HIV may reduce the sexual transmission of HIV on a population level. We are familiar with the idea that if someone uses a condom for sex they can protect themselves and others from getting HIV -- this is something an individual is able to do to protect themselves and others. But "treatment as prevention" moves away ...

How does treatment as prevention work?

Treatment as prevention has been used as a form of controlling the spread of HIV since the mid-1990s, initially in the context of preventing the transmission of the virus from mothers to their children. Research in 1994 revealed how the drug zidovudine can reduce vertical transmission. The testing and treatment of HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding has since led to the reduction of the risk of transmission by up to 95%. A program for offering ARVs for life to any HIV-positive pregnant person called "Option B+" served as a precursor to the "test and treat" strategy that is now being rolled out in various countries. Assessments of the Option B+ program are able to aid in the improvement and further establishment of "test and treat".

What is ART therapy?

In relation to HIV, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a three or more drug combination therapy that is used to decrease the viral load, or the measured amount of virus, in an infected individual. Such medications are used as a preventative for infected individuals to not only spread the HIV virus to their negative partners ...

What is undetectability in HIV?

Undetectability ensures that infection does not necessarily have an effect on a person's general health, and that there is no longer a risk of passing along HIV to others. Consistent adherence to an ARV regimen, monitoring, and testing are essential for continued confirmed viral suppression. Treatment as prevention rose to great prominence in 2011, ...

What is the TasP recommendation?

TasP's legitimacy has influenced the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2015 shift from "test and wait" to " test and treat" recommendation, which push to alert as many people as possible of their HIV status through testing, and start people infected with HIV on ARVs, no matter their viral load or CD4 count.

What are the challenges of scaling access to treatment?

Challenges to scaling access to treatment include cost and drug resistance. However, modeling studies suggest that the costs of not providing access would be far greater and concerns regarding resistance have not been borne out despite tens of millions of people accessing treatment.

Which countries have lower access to HIV treatment?

However, key populations in countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East may still have lower access to treatment and the benefits it brings, as a result of the stigma that surrounds HIV.

Can HIV-1 be prevented?

The study's purpose was to reveal that HIV-1 viral transmission can be prevented through treatment, leading many regions to incorporate a treatment as prevention plan into their public health policy for responding to HIV.

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.

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.

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 ...

Any other collapse-aware gay dudes out there?

From Wikipedia: “Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of socioeconomic complexity, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence.

What do you like about being gay?

Let's have a positive post for this Friday! Name one thing you like about being gay.

FTM on gay cruise

I’m a transguy and will be going on my first Atlantis cruise next year with my cis partner. I’m very much not the type to walk around without something covering my bottom half, so top surgery scars would be the only indicator that I’m trans (and I’m upfront/open about it).

Guys who have a mental health professional, was it important to you that they were male and gay?

I've been struggling with severe depression and anxiety all my life. I was extremely suicidal in my college years, and I ended up committing myself to the campus' student hospital before an attempt one night. I was there for a psych evaluation and worked with a counselor to set me up with a gamut of mental health professionals.

Why do people delay HIV treatment?

Research suggests that the fear of disclosure and the lack of HIV-specific care are among the reasons that so many delay treatment until the appearance of symptomatic disease. It would require the means by which to ensure population-based adherence, the success of which is highly variable and hard to predict.

How many people are unable to maintain adherence to HIV treatment?

According to the CDC, of HIV-positive people currently on therapy, nearly one in four are unable to maintain the necessary adherence to achieve complete viral suppression. Finally, the cost of implementation is seen to be a major obstacle particularly as global HIV funding continues to be severely reduced.

Is TasP an infallible strategy?

As compelling as these results are, TasP should not be considered an infallible strategy even among committed, se rodiscordant couples. In the end, taking HIV medication is not the same thing as achieving an undetectable viral load. In fact, according to the CDC, only 59.8 percent of people with HIV are virally suppressed.

PrEP does not lead to riskier behavior

A vocal few argue that PrEP will lead to higher rates of condomless sex, and perhaps to a higher likelihood of transmission of sexually transmitted infections besides HIV. But this has yet to proven true.

The trouble with a once-a-day-pill

Critics often point to problems with the current PrEP formulation — one pill, taken once a day. They argue that PrEP is only effective if taken properly, and people do not always adhere to a pill-a-day regimen. To some extent, there is some truth to this concern.

PrEP and privilege

With the evidence suggesting the PrEP is effective, even if not taken consistently, and doesn’t necessarily lead to risky behavior, why does there continue to be a debate over whether it is a good thing? And what purpose does this debate serve? Researchers and academics have the privilege of engaging in intellectual back and forth about PrEP and its role in fighting this epidemic.

What Is Treatment as Prevention?

How Do We Know If Treatment as Prevention Will Work?

Why Doesn't Treatment as Prevention Work on An Individual level?

What Are The Main Components of A "Treatment as Prevention" Program?

What Does This Approach Mean For Community-Based Agencies?

Impact on Services

Funding

What Is Happening on The Ground?

to Wrap Up ...

Treatment as prevention is a new potential approach to help curb the growth of the HIV epidemic. If we take a step back, away from the science and all the questions about whether and how much it will work -- bringing more people into care is essential regardless of any prevention benefit. Despite access to care and treatment in Canada, people are b...

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References

Overview

Treatment as prevention (TasP) is a concept in public health that promotes treatment as a way to prevent and reduce the likelihood of HIV illness, death and transmission from an infected individual to others. Expanding access to earlier HIV diagnosis and treatment as a means to address the global epidemic by preventing illness, death and transmission was first proposed in 2000 by Garnett et al. The term is often used to talk about treating people that are currently living with hu…