McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine

McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine
Interviews
Infectious Diseases
Strategies for controlling epidemics of HIV/AIDS

Strategies for controlling epidemics of HIV/AIDS

2018-10-17

Philippe Morlat

Recorded at the 4th McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine (MIRCIM).

What should be the main strategies to control the epidemics of HIV/AIDS?

Philippe Morlat, MD, PhD: There are 2 main strategies to control this epidemic. One is to screen all individuals who are suspected to be infected. The other one is to treat all screened [and infected] individuals with antiretroviral drugs. These two actions lead people with HIV to have in their body an undetectable viral load and not transmit the virus.

The main goals are to screen the maximum number of people who are infected and to treat all of them as the diagnosis becomes known.

There is another way to reach this goal: prevention. Prevention means the sexual conduct, prevention among intravenous drug users, and a new way called preexposure prophylaxis, which refers to taking pills before an unprotected sexual intercourse. That is a new way of protecting against the virus.

See also

Pending pharmacokinetic studies of antiretroviral drugs in the elderly Are there any pending pharmacokinetic studies of antiretroviral drugs in the elderly?
Antacids and the risk of traveler’s diarrhea Do antacids affect the risk of traveler’s diarrhea?
Evaluating H pylori eradication When should we check if Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy was successful? In particular, should we do it in patients with dyspepsia?
MRSA carriers among hospital personnel Should members of the hospital personnel who do not have direct contact with patients and who are carriers of a multidrug-resistant strain, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, continue to work as normal?
Vaccination in hematologic malignancies Do you recommend vaccinations in patients with hematologic malignancies?
Patients at highest risk of C difficile infection What patients are at the highest risk of developing Clostridium difficile infection?
Our deceptive mind: why reasoning methods matter A lecture by Dr Gordon Guyatt delivered at Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Practice Guidelines in Contemporary Practice in Kraków in May 2017.
Antibiotic resistance: how to handle in clinical practice A lecture by Prof. Mark Loeb, from McMaster University, Canada, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2016.

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