By Winile Mavuso - SWAZILAND will soon pilot the Treatment as Prevention (TasP) programme, Swaziland National AIDS Programme’s (SNAP), Dr Charles Azih has revealed.
HIV/AIDS researchers have long debated whether antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) used to treat HIV-infected people might have a double benefit and cut transmission rates. To some it was obvious: unproven
ARVs reduce HIV levels, so individuals should be less infectious. However, skeptics contended that this was unproven. In 2011, interim results of HIV Prevention Trials Network study 052, a National Institutes of Health study designed to test the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment against the spread of HIV, were reported.
These results showed that in a stable relationship in which one member of the couple was infected with HIV, treatment of the infected partner with antiretroviral drugs, combined with couples counseling and condom use, resulted in a 96% reduction in sexual transmission of HIV-1.
This finding led to the use of antiretroviral treatment as a cornerstone of HIV prevention. Independent advisory committees of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have since issued analyses that set the stage for broader use of antiretroviral agents in treatment and prevention.
Dr Azih reported during a post XIX International AIDS Conference meeting at Mountain Inn on Monday that studies had revealed that if people were tested, put on treatment and adhered to the medication, the HI virus can be suppressed thus transmission reduced.
“ART can produce up to 96% protection from HIV and starting treatment early can also reduce cases of TB,” he said. Dr Azih observed that the programme might be costly, however, with long lasting benefits. Studies revealed that 90% employment was recovered among South Africans after people had been put on ART.
Dr Azih explained that the country was gearing up to pilot the programme as commissioned by WHO. A National TasP Implementation Framework has already been developed. “We are going to work with the implementing partners, who will draw up proposals and submit them to the ministry. It is still going to be a long process as the proposals will be forwarded to the Ethics Committee and people trained before the programme could actually be piloted,” he said.
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