TasP 治療達致防疫

自20世紀90年代中期以來,抗逆轉錄病毒(簡稱「抗病毒」)治療已成為治療愛滋病毒感染的黃金標準。這涉及抗病毒藥物組合的處方,通常被稱為組合抗病毒治療(cART),高效能抗病毒治療(HAART)或雞尾酒治療。抗病毒治療的有效性得到了很好的證明。通過終身治療,患者的健康狀況得到改善,令許多人恢復正常生活。現時全球接受抗病毒治療的愛滋病毒感染者人數接近二千萬。接受治療後,感染者身體中的病毒量下降到不可檢測的水平。從公共衛生角度看,病毒傳播的風險亦隨著治療顯著降低。這種現象形成了『治療達致防疫』(TasP)的基礎。如果每個感染愛滋病毒的人都知道自己的感染狀況,並迅速接受抗病毒治療,病毒在社區傳播將會停止。通過TasP實現愛滋病預防,需要致力提高人們對自身愛滋病毒狀況的認識,擴大有效治療的覆蓋,並確保病毒受到抑制。

在個人層面上,為TasP作出貢獻的最簡單的方法是鼓勵愛滋病毒感染的朋友接受治療,並推廣愛滋病毒檢測。臨床和公共衛生研究對於支持TasP策略至為重要。

Since the mid-1990s, antiretroviral therapy has become the gold standard in the treatment of HIV infection. This involves the prescription of a combination of antiretroviral compounds, and is commonly referred as combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or cocktail treatment. The effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment has been well proven. With life-long treatment, patients' health conditions improve and many resume normal life. Globally the number of HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy is approaching 20 million. By receiving treatment, the number of virus particles in the body of an infected person falls to undetectable level. From the public health perspective, the risk of virus transmission becomes significantly minimized. This phenomenon forms the basis of Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP). If each HIV infected person is aware of his/her infection status and received antiretroviral therapy promptly, HIV spread in the community will stop. To achieve HIV prevention through TasP, efforts are needed to improve awareness of one's HIV status, to expand coverage of effective treatment, and to ensure that virus suppression is attained.

On a personal level, the simplest way to contribute to TasP is to encourage HIV infected friends to receive and adhere to treatment, and to promote HIV testing. Clinical and public health research are crucial in supporting the TasP strategy.