Death rate reduced if HIV treatment started early

If HIV treatment is started early then death rates can be reduced to a level in line with the general population, research has found.

Experts from the Public Library of Science have revealed that mortality rates in four African countries approached those of the general population when treatment began before severe damage was done to the immune system.

For HIV-infected patients who have access to antiretroviral treatment (ART), the mortality rate is dropping in sub-Saharan Africa.

During the first two years of ART treatment, mortality for HIV-infected people is higher than the general population in the Ivory Coast, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

However, if ART treatment is started when patients have a high CD4 lymphocyte count but no symptoms of advanced HIV, there is a moderate excess mortality rate.

ART treatment is now given to more than two million people in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Office of AIDS Research of the National Institutes of Health, the Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les Hepatites Virales and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were also involved in this research.

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