The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that resistance to the drugs used to treat HIV is on the rise.
According to the 2017 WHO HIV Drug Resistance report, 6 out of 11 countries surveyed reported that more than 10 percent of people who are “starting antiretroviral therapy had a strain of HIV that was resistant to some of the most widely used HIV medicines.”
“Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing challenge to global health and sustainable development,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We need to proactively address the rising levels of resistance to HIV drugs if we are to achieve the global target of ending AIDS by 2030.”
More than half a dozen countries are above the 10 percent threshold. These include Argentina, Guatemala, Namibia, Nicaragua, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Researchers warn that the growing threat could undermine global progress in treating and preventing HIV infection if action is not taken immediately.
You May Also Like
In 2014, there were an estimated 37,600 new HIV infections, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During that time, an estimated 1.1 million people in the United States were living with the fatal disease. One in 7 (about 15 percent) did not know their status. As of June 2016, about 36.7 million people were living with HIV globally, with 19.5 million receiving medicines to treat the illness, called antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Antiretroviral therapies have helped people live substantially longer with HIV. A study published in the Lancet HIV reported that a 20-year-old infected with HIV today can expect to live about 78 years, which is comparable to individuals who do not have the disease.
Still, the new data proves that a growing number of sufferers are experiencing the consequences of drug resistance. Drug resistance occurs when people don’t adhere to a prescribed treatment plan. This often happens because they don’t have access to high-quality HIV treatment or care and can’t take their full regimen of medication.
"We need to ensure that people who start treatment can stay on effective treatment, to prevent the emergence of HIV drug resistance," said Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, director of WHO’s HIV Department and Global Hepatitis Program, in statement about the findings. “When levels of HIV drug resistance become high we recommend that countries shift to an alternative first-line therapy for those who are starting treatment.”
Know Your Status
Therein lies the importance of early detecting via testing. Ways to know your status include:
You May Also Like
- Ask your primary care physician for an HIV test.
- Test at home with OraQuick, the FDA-approved in-home HIV test.
- Check local substance abuse programs, community health centers and hospitals about free testing events.
- Call 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) for testing locations near you.
- Visit gettested.cdc.gov or locator.hiv.gov for testing locations.
- You can even get updates via text messag, by texting KNOW IT (566948) with your zip code.
