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When HIV Started
HIV first began to spread along the historic trade routes of the Congo basin in the 1920s. -
When A.I.D.S Cases Were Reported
In September, AIDS cases were also being reported in a number of European countries -
HAART
Following a number of breakthrough trials and new drugs, it becomes clear during 1996 that combining a number of drug types could have a dramatic effect on keeping HIV under control. -
Treatment as prevention
The results of the groundbreaking HPTN 052 trial show that people living with HIV and taking antiretroviral drugs were 96% less likely to transmit the virus to their partners. The findings end a long-standing debate over whether antiretrovirals could provide a double benefit by treating the virus in individual patients while simultaneously cutting transmission rates. The results prove that they could. This was the first step in establishing treatment as prevention. -
Increasing treatment access
By the end of 2011, 8 million people are accessing antiretroviral treatment, a twenty-fold increase from 2003. This means, for the first time, a majority (54%) of people needing treatment in low- and middle-income countries are receiving it. However, in 2015, new World Health Organization guidelines recommend that everyone should begin treatment as soon after an HIV diagnosis as possible. This ‘treat-all’ recommendation means 9 million more people need access to treatment globally.