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               WHO Calls for Early Treatment for All HIV Patients

   by VOA News

   The World Health Organization says anyone who tests positive for HIV,
   the virus that causes AIDS, should be given anti-retroviral treatment
   immediately, in new guidelines announced by the U.N. agency Wednesday.

   "The expanded use of antiretroviral treatment is supported by recent
   findings from clinical trials confirming that early use of ART
   (anti-retroviral treatment) keeps people living with HIV alive,
   healthier and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to partners,"
   the WHO said Wednesday.

   The U.N. agency had previously said patients should be treated after
   their immune cell counts had fallen below a certain threshold.

   The WHO says its new recommendations will increase the number of people
   eligible for antiretroviral treatment from the current 28 million to
   the entire group of 37 million people across the world who are
   HIV-positive.

   Also Wednesday, the WHO said it recommends that all people who are at
   "substantial" risk of contracting the virus should be offered
   preventative treatment, not just men who have sex with men.

   The U.N. health agency says expanding access to treatment is at the
   heart of a new set of targets aimed at ending the AIDS epidemic by
   2030. It says the targets include having 90 percent of people living
   with HIV being aware of their status, 90 percent of that population
   getting antiretroviral treatment, and 90 percent of people getting
   treatment having no detectable virus in their blood.

   The U.N. organization says expanding treatment to all people living
   with HIV and expanding prevention options as well could prevent 21
   million deaths and 28 million new infections by 2030.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/who-calls-for-early-treatment-for-all-hiv-patients/2985320.html