HIV/AIDS Could be Eradicated by 2050

February 24, 2010

A leading scientist has claimed that HIV/AIDS could be a thing of the past in four decades if radical testing methods involving billions of people were used.

A shift in approach from containing the disease to outright halting transmission is needed, says Dr. Brian Williams of the South African Centre of Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.
 

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Williams said: "The problem is we're now using HIV drugs to save people's lives; we're not using them to stop transmission.
 

"Can we use anti-retroviral drugs not only to keep people alive but also to stop transmission? I believe we can. I believe we can effectively stop transmission within five years."

Dr. Williams estimates transmission could end by 2015 and the disease eradicated in 2050 – as most carriers would have died by then.

Current anti-retroviral medications work to lower the viral load of HIV carriers, reducing the chance of spreading the infection. Increasing the numbers of testes – by billions as Dr. Williams proposes - would identify carriers sooner so that treatment may begin to stem the spread of the disease. Other experts in the field agree.

"The epidemic is killing half a million young adults every year at the prime of their life when they have started to contributed to society. The cost of that to society is enormous," said Dr. Williams.

Dr. Williams called AIDS “one of the worst plagues in human history."

One in ten gay men in London carries the disease. Globally, 33 million are thought to be HIV/AIDS carriers, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Image Source: www.idp-europe.org