HIV / AIDS in Practice: When to Start Therapy, a Clinical Context Report Article from "MedPage Today"

The writer, Mr. Smith, interviewed Dr. Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about the treatment of HIV / AIDS. Dr. Cohen says that the guideline from International Antiviral Society and DHSS (Department of Health and Human Services) treatment for HIV need to be started immediately after the diagnosis regardless of the CD4 cell count. HIV treatment involves different steps. First and foremost is for people to have a test for HIV detection. Once it is detected, treatment should be started. HIV and AIDS are two different diseases. HIV can be controlled and a person can lead a normal life. However, there are side effects of HIV treatment as well like it produces elite controllers i.e. patients who will progress towards AIDS slowly or not at all. But despite the low HIV viral cells, they might suffer from organ damage. The study shows that earl treatment prevents heterosexual transmissions to be non-contagious. The drugs used for HIV are not one-size-fit-all; they are given according...

In 2011, the funding for the treatment and prevention of HIV was $16.8 billion. 48% of this amount was donated by United States i.e. $8.2 billion. The poor and middle-income countries spent around $8.6 million. United Nations estimates that in order to achieve the goals related to elimination of HIV, another $5 million are required (Beasley & Miles, 2012). So according to the article under discussion, the cost of HIV treatment will increase. However, the immediate treatment cuts of the cost of tests for CD4 cell count since its position is only as a surrogate. The doctor will not be required to monitor the CD4 cell count a required in the earlier treatments.
The earlier the treatment starts, better are the chances of eradicating HIV in a patient. The drugs suggested for this early start of treatment are efavirenz and abacavir/lamivudine. Today, less people have to die due to HIV infection because more people…