Benefits of antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection

Antiretroviral treatment of a person infected with HIV has the following benefits:

• individual health benefit – reduction in HIV-associated morbidity and mortality, and improved quality of life Grinsztejn, 2014Insight Start Study Group, 2015
• prevention of HIV transmission to sexual partners (also known as ‘treatment as prevention’ [TasP] or ‘Undetectable=Untransmittable’ [U=U])Bavinton, 2018Cohen, 2016Rodger, 2016Tang, 2015
• prevention of HIV transmission from a pregnant or breastfeeding person to their baby.

Antiretroviral therapy taken by a person who is not infected with HIV reduces their risk of acquiring HIV infection – this is termed pre-exposure antiretroviral prophylaxis (PrEP) . Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) can be given after exposure to an HIV-infected source – see Management of suspected or confirmed exposure to HIV. People who are provided with nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis should be assessed for suitability for HIV PrEP.