AIDS epidemic no longer a public health issue, but HIV still is
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Jennifer Power, La Trobe University
AIDS is no longer a public health problem in Australia. This is the announcement that came earlier this week from leading scientists at the Kirby and Peter Doherty institutes and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO).
But what does this really mean?
AIDS is the syndrome caused by damage to the body’s immune system that results from HIV. AIDS is an advanced stage of HIV infection, occurring when the body no longer has capacity to fight off infections and other illnesses.
However, modern antiretroviral treatment (ART) is so effective at suppressing HIV within a person’s body, that people consistently using ART are unlikely to ever develop AIDS.
ART is a lifelong treatment regimen for people living with HIV. If ART is stopped, HIV will rapidly rebound in the body, causing damage to the immune system and increasing the likelihood that the virus can be transmitted to others.
The most recent national HIV surveillance data estimated that...
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