Treatment and care in adults
Adults with HIV are now living longer; hence, they are likely to acquire chronic conditions related to normal ageing, as well as HIV infection. Potent antiretroviral therapy (ART) consists of a combination of antiretroviral drugs to maximally suppress the virus and to stop progression of HIV disease. Effective ART also prevents onward transmission of HIV. When potent antiretroviral regimens are used, particularly in the early stages of the disease, huge reductions are seen in the rate of HIV associated deaths and new infections.
WHO recommends ART for all people with HIV, starting as soon as possible after diagnosis, irrespective of clinical symptoms and without any restrictions on CD4 cell counts. Opportunistic infections and cancers continue to cause morbidity and mortality in patients living with HIV infection throughout the world. Approximately 1 third of patients present for care with an advanced HIV disease, frequently associated with 1 or more opportunistic diseasees. Rapid ART initiation and use of prophylaxis for certain diseases have reduced the incidence of opportunistic infections and mortality.
As part of comprehensive prevention, WHO also recommends people at substantial risk of HIV infection be offered pre-exposure prophylaxis with antiretrovirals as an additional prevention choice. Countries are now moving to adapt and implement these recommendations within their own epidemiological settings.
Latest policy guidance
Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, testing,...
Publications
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Optimization of second-line and third-line antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV
This report summarizes the clinical evidence, key challenges and research gaps for optimizing second-line and third-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens...
Supporting re-engagement in HIV treatment services
This policy brief provides an overview of the complexities and challenges of people re-engaging in HIV treatment services. It highlights person-centred...
The role of HIV viral suppression in improving individual health and reducing transmission
This policy brief describes key HIV viral load thresholds and the available viral load testing approaches for monitoring how well antiretroviral therapy...
This technical report summarizes the discussions on the status of programmatic transition to tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir (TLD) in low–...
Priorities for antiretroviral drug optimization in adults and children report of a CADO, PADO and HIVResNet...
The CADO-4 and the PADO-5 meetings were held virtually between September and October 2021 to promote alignment and synergy across these two expert groups...
Updated recommendations on service delivery for the treatment and care of people living with HIV
These guidelines provide new and updated recommendations and good practice statements in the following areas: starting ART, including initiating treatment...
Updated recommendations on HIV prevention, infant diagnosis, antiretroviral initiation and monitoring
These guidelines provide new and updated recommendations on the use of point-of-care testing in children under 18 months of age and point-of-care tests...
In April 2020, new directions in global guidance for HIV strategic information and treatment monitoring were updated. This technical update outlines the...
The 2019 updated guidelines provide the latest recommendations based on rapidly evolving evidence of safety and efficacy and programmatic experience using...
The importance of access to contraceptive care for women and adolescent girls, including those living with HIV, is well established. By enabling women...
Guidelines for managing advanced HIV disease and rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy
The objectives of these guidelines are to provide recommendations outlining a public health approach to managing people presenting with advanced HIV disease,...
Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection:...
These guidelines provide guidance on the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for treating...
Guideline on when to start antiretroviral therapy and on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV
This early-release guideline makes available two key recommendations that were developed during the revision process in 2015. First, antiretroviral therapy...
Journal articles
Current and future priorities for the development of optimal HIV drugs, Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS: March 2019 - Volume 14 - Issue 2 - p 143-149 doi: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000527
When could new antiretrovirals be recommended for national treatment programmes in low-income and middle-income countries: results of a WHO Think Tank, Current Opinion in HIV & AIDS, 12 July 2017, doi: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000380.