Revisions have been made to the latest version of guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending earlier treatment.
People with HIV-negative sexual partners are advised to begin treatment regardless of their cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count.
The fourth version of the Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines recommends an earlier starting point for HIV treatment for HIV-positive people at a CD4 T-cell count of 500 or less, or 500 T-cells or less per cubic millimeter of blood, according to the Taiwan AIDS Society.
Studies have shown that starting the antiretroviral therapy at a CD4 count of between 350 and 500 reduces the incidence of opportunistic infections and lowers the death rate in HIV-positive patients, the society said, adding that the WHO raised the treatment bar in June from a CD4 count of 350 to 500, and 90 percent of the countries in the world have since adopted the new guideline.
Another revision to the guidelines recommends that HIV treatment be provided to HIV-positive people who might transmit the virus to their sexual partners, regardless of CD4 count.
According to the result of a clinical trial — known as HPTN 052 — where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is not (serodiscordant), the antiretroviral treatment on HIV-positive people can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their HIV-negative sexual partners by 96 percent.
The US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines last year recommended all serodiscordant couples to start treatment regardless of CD4 T-cell counts, followed by the WHO this year.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chang Feng-yee (張峰義) said that the cost of HIV treatment, which has exceeded NT$2.6 billion (US$87 million) a year in recent years, is shouldered by the CDC.
Following the guidelines recommended by the WHO can lower the risk of opportunistic infections and prolong the lives of HIV-positive patients, but the price is an upsurge in the cost of medicine, Chang said.
Chang added that preliminary thoughts on how to contain the cost is to have those who often stop the treatment to discontinue taking the drugs, for now, to avoid potential drug-resistance.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS