3. Introduction
• The introduction of protease inhibitor drugs in 1996 was a game
changer in the treatment of the disease, and now with early
treatment, people with AIDS can live about as long as those
without the disease, said Dr. Alysse Wurcel, an infectious disease
specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
4. Treatment
• The main treatment for HIV is antiretroviral therapy, a
combination of daily medications that stop the virus from
reproducing. ... Antiretroviral therapy helps keep HIV from
progressing to AIDS. It also helps reduce the risk of transmitting
HIV to others. When treatment is effective, the viral load will be
“undetectable.”
6. Prevention
• There’s no vaccine to prevent HIV infection and no cure for AIDS.
But you can protect yourself and others from infection. To help
prevent the spread of HIV: Use a new condom every time you have
sex.