Study in The Lancet: Antiretroviral Therapy Associated with 92% Decreased Risk of HIV Transmission among HIV-1 Discordant Couples in a Large Multinational Study

via University of Washington International Clinical Research Center, by The Lancet

"HIV-positive individuals who used antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduced the risk of transmitting HIV to their uninfected partners by 92 percent." - The Lancet Journal

During the study, 349 HIV-infected partners initiated ART at an average CD4 count of 198. Of the 103 HIV infections that occurred in these couples, there was only one HIV transmission after ART initiation. In that single event, the HIV-infected partner had started ART about three months prior to HIV infection being first detected in her partner.

Antiretroviral therapy decreases the concentration of HIV in blood plasma to very low levels, the authors explained, likely making the individual less infectious to others. Viral suppression to very low levels was achieved in 70 percent of individuals in this study, at an average of seven months after starting ART.

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