The World Health Organization’s upcoming HIV treatment guidelines will recommend HIV meds for everyone living with the virus regardless of their CD4 count, aidsmap reports.
The WHO’s new guidelines will come out later this year and will update the current 2013 version. Meg Doherty, MD, PhD, of the WHO Department of HIV/AIDS made the announcement on Sunday via a satellite meeting before the 8th International AIDS Society Conference (IAS 2015) in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The recommendations arrive on the heels of data from the START and TEMPRANO studies; both found many benefits to starting treatment when CD4 counts remain above 500.
According to aidsmap, the new WHO guidelines recommend:
Treatment for all adults and adolescents regardless of CD4 count, prioritizing those with CD4 counts below 350 cells/mm3 and those with AIDS-defining illnesses.
Treatment for all children.
Treatment for all pregnant women, leading to lifelong treatment.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) should be offered as an additional prevention choice for people at substantial risk of HIV infection.