Roadshow redefines approach to HIV in Toowoomba

published on July 24, 2016 in The Chronicle

THE HIV Foundation Queensland Prevention Roadshow will be rolling into Toowoomba on Wednesday.

It is bringing with it the latest in HIV prevention and treatment knowledge to help the region and local health professionals region end new transmissions of HIV.

The HIV Foundation Queensland Treatment as Prevention Roadshow will see international experts share how their reconsidered approach to the virus has helped their own communities to dramatically reduce rates of transmission.

Assistant director, Dr Rolando Barrios, and director of operations, Ms Irene Day, at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS will be joined by their Queensland and Australian peers to talk to local professionals about how treatment for people living with HIV as soon as possible improves individual health and prevents the onward transmission of the virus.

"The global best-practise approach, called TasP (treatment as prevention), works two ways," Dr Barrios said.

"Treatment for people living with HIV treatment leads to the amount of virus in their blood becoming so small it is undetectable. When someone has an undetectable viral load, new evidence from a larger scale study shows there were no transmissions of HIV."

"But the really ground-breaking thing about TasP is that people who are HIV negative can take HIV treatment once a day and this prevents them from being able to acquire the virus," he said.

"We're here to demonstrate these approaches work in preventing the spread of the virus and reaching the United Nation's (UN) 90-90-90 target."

Chair of the HIV Foundation Queensland, Dr Darren Russell, said the Roadshow along with educating local health professionals about this new evidence and approach is an important step in helping Queensland reach the UN's targets for HIV awareness, prevention and transmission.

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Rolando Barrios

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Roadshow redefines approach to HIV in Toowoomba

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