Treatment as prevention--where next?

Abstract

Uptake of antiretroviral regimens with associated durable virologic suppression has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Expanding antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs at a population level may serve as a vital strategy in the elimination of the AIDS epidemic. The global expansion of ART programs has greatly improved access to life-saving therapies and is likely to achieve the target of 15 million individuals on therapy set by UNAIDS. In addition to the incontrovertible gains in terms of life expectancy, growing evidence demonstrates that durable virologic suppression is associated with significant reductions in HIV transmission amongst heterosexual couples and men who have sex with men. Expansion of successful ART programs, best monitored by a program-level continuum of care cascade to assess progress in diagnosis, retention in care, and virologic suppression, is associated with reductions in HIV incidence at a population level. Expanding and sustaining successful ART delivery at a global level is a key component in a comprehensive approach to combating the HIV epidemic over the next two decades.