HIV treatment could cut deaths

Co-trimoxazole prophylaxis should be given to adult HIV patients for at least 72 weeks before starting combination antiretroviral (ATR), according to a new report.

The antibiotic drug is used to treat a range of bacterial infections and reduces risk of death from HIV, however, it has not been readily available for prescription in the UK.

A spokesperson for international Aids charity AVERT said: "It's well tolerated in most people, both adults and children and it has very limited, if any side-effects. The benefits have been known for some time.

"The cost of the antiretroviral therapy to specifically treat HIV is so great, there just isn't the resourcing to give the additional treatment. Co-trimoxazole needs to be seen as an important addition to the combination therapy because we know it works and it's safe."

AVERT reports that an estimated 83,000 people were living with HIV in the UK at the end of 2008, of whom more than a quarter (27 per cent) were unaware of their infection. There have been 25,470 diagnoses of Aids in the UK.

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