HIV treatment

The life expectancy of people with HIV has improved dramatically in recent years.

Treatment with anti-HIV drugs means that many people with HIV can expect to live a long and healthy life, with a prognosis that is near normal.

The aim of HIV treatment is to achieve an undetectable viral load. As well as suppressing the amount of HIV in the body, HIV treatment can reduce the risk of someone developing other conditions or health problems associated with HIV infection.

HIV transmission and prevention

Kidney transplants in people with HIV

People with HIV are at increased risk of a number of illnesses, including kidney disease. In very severe cases, it may be necessary for someone with end-stage kidney disease to receive a new kidney through a transplant. Until now, all kidney transplants in people with HIV have used organs from HIV-negative donors.

Now, in South Africa, doctors have reported on four transplants done with organs donated from HIV-positive donors. Before now, there had always been concern that doing this ran the risk of superinfection with another type of HIV that might cause faster disease progression. 

None of the four patients had experienced rejection of their new kidney, and all had good kidney function, after 12 months.

Doctors hope to develop a pool of HIV-positive people to be kidney donors, increasing the chances of people in resource-limited settings having the transplant they need.

Treating children with HIV

With the right treatment and care, it is possible for women with HIV to have a healthy, HIV-negative baby. However, some babies do become infected with HIV during pregnancy, birth or by being breastfed by their HIV-positive mother.

The World Health Organization (WHO) now recommends that all HIV-positive children aged under two years should receive HIV treatment, regardless of their CD4 count or their general health.

The new WHO recommendations also set out treatment regimens for children at different ages and stages of HIV progression.

In countries like the UK, improvements in HIV treatment and care can mean that children born with HIV are now able to live longer and healthier lives.

You can find out more about current HIV treatment in children in the UK in our booklet HIV & children. It is available to download as a PDF from our website, or can be ordered from our online bookshop.