Final Results from HPTN 052 Confirm That Treatment Is Prevention

Interim analyses from the multinational HPTN 052 study showed that among HIV-serodiscordant couples, antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the infected partner reduced the risk for HIV transmission to the uninfected partner by 96%, at a median follow-up of 1.7 years (NEJM JW HIV/AIDS Sep 2011 and N Engl J Med 2011; 365:493). We now have more than 5 years of follow-up data.

Among 1763 HIV-serodiscordant couples in this study, the HIV-infected partner was randomized to receive immediate (886) or delayed (877) ART initiation. After interim results were released in May 2011, all HIV-infected participants were offered ART. In all, 78 partner infections (19 in the early-ART arm, 59 in the delayed-ART arm) occurred: annual incidence, 0.9%. Viral-linkage…