The world should stop waiting for a cure for AIDS and focus instead on exciting new developments in treatment and prevention, according to a top researcher who will address a major international HIV conference in Sydney this week.
"This is a hugely exciting time in the world of AIDS research," said Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"We've got incredibly potent treatments on the horizon, possible vaccines in the pipeline and new options for using these things in ways we haven't before. But as for a cure, let's just stop talking about it," added Fauci, who was speaking last week.
Fauci appeared as one of the keynote speakers at the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment, and said the virus' ability to integrate itself into the genetic makeup of human cells meant the disease was almost impossible to eliminate.
"You can stop it multiplying and keep someone quite well for many, many years," he said. "But so far we haven't even come close to truly eradicating it in anyone, and I think we should just stop talking about it."
More than 5,000 delegates from 130 countries are expected to attend the conference, where researchers will present their findings. The presentations include information on the benefits of circumcision for cutting HIV rates as well as the latest developments in antiretroviral drugs.
Conference participants will also be urged to sign a declaration aimed at raising more money for HIV research.
The so-called Sydney Declaration calls on national governments and bilateral, multilateral and private donors to allocate at least 10 percent of all HIV/AIDS-related funding to continued research.
"We believe that without such funding we will fail to maintain a sustained and effective response to the AIDS pandemic," the declaration says.
The conference organizers say this will help speed up the implementation of new drugs and technologies to prevent, diagnose and treat the infection.
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