Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is any record of people surviving an AIDS diagnosis while on continuous antiviral medication for 5,6,7,8,9 or 10 or more years; and if so how many they are aware of in each category.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonI refer the noble Earl to the reply I gave on 7 July at columnWA63. This shows the number of reported cases surviving three years or more after an AIDS diagnosis. We do not know how many are constant users of antiviral drugs because the choice of treatment for HIV and AIDS patients is a matter for discussion between the patient and clinician; records of an individual's treatments are confidential.
Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the medical advice since 1987 to people with HIV/AIDS who have been prescribed antiviral medication about the length of time for which they should take such medication.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonIn April this year the first consensus of medical opinion was published about the anteretroviral treatment of HIV seropositive individuals in the form of guidelines from the British HIV Association. These guidelines do not contain recommendations about the length of time an individual should remain on medication. The choice and duration of treatment is a matter for discussion and agreement between individual patients and their clinicians, and medical advice will be tailored to the individual.