Scientists Can Block HIV Transmission, With A New Drug That Could Finally Stop AIDS

Ever since the initial discovery of AIDS and HIV in 1981, the virus has been a thorn in the side of humanity.

It's caused an estimated 35 million deaths worldwide, with no cure in sight. But all of that may finally be about to change, thanks to the discovery of a new drug.

In a landmark study, researchers at the University College London have discovered that antiretrovirals that completely suppressed the HIV infection in men actually scrubbed all chances of them infecting sexual partners. What that means is, if everyone with HIV can be fully treated with the drug, there would never be any further spread of the virus.

The study focused on nearly 1,000 male couples across Europe, where one partner with HIV was receiving the treatment to suppress their infection. And of those 1,000 couples, not one showed an instance of the infected person passing on the virus to their partner. The study did find that 15 of the men in the study did contract HIV, but that was determined to be through sex with someone other than their partner, who was not on treatment.

"It's brilliant - fantastic. This very much puts this issue to bed," said Prof Alison Rodger the co-lead on the paper published in the Lancet medical journal. Though previous studies have had similar results, this one finally provides conclusive proof that HIV infections can be fully suppressed through medication.

"This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face. Increased efforts must now focus on wider dissemination of this powerful message and ensuring that all HIV-positive people have access to testing, effective treatment, adherence support and linkage to care to help maintain an undetectable viral load," Rodger said.

And the stigma is real, faced by the almost 40 million HIV-positive people detected in 2017. It's partly why so many people are hesitant to ever get tested. And because of that, they may never know they have the virus, or can't easily access healthcare when they find out.

But if people can be encouraged to get tested regularly, and start this kind of treatment, we could eventually stop the transmission of the virus altogether. That means, in the future, we may be able to eradicate AIDS entirely.