When HIV Positive Youths Need Treatment

A recent study led by researchers at John Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, Maryland has concluded that many HIV-infected youths either do not receive treatment or fail to get it in time to avoid risk of progressing to full-blown AIDS. The study investigated hundreds of HIV-infected youths in HIV clinics nationwide and found that 43 percent of the 656 who qualified for highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) failed to receive treatment following recommended guidelines. Criteria for recommended treatment include low CD4 count, high viral load, or a combination of these factors.

Teenagers and young adults have tended to be the hardest demographic group to treat due to low compliance with multidrug regimens and failure to attend follow-up appointments with treatment staff. The researchers urge front-line care workers to encourage better compliance with beginning and maintaining proper treatment. Center of Disease Control statistics indicate that 53,000 new HIV infections are diagnosed each year in the United States with 14 percent of those infections occurring in the 13 to 25-year old category.

Proper treatment remains vital to prevent medical complications, restore proper immune systems, and to reduce the risk of infecting others.

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