How to manage the HIV epidemic is a question that appears to be more frequent than ever nowadays. More and more people get infected with the disastrous condition, especially in the sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV virus has killed 25 million since it was first identified. There are 33 million other people living with the virus worldwide. There is no cure for it, but the existing drugs allow patients to lead a nearly normal life.

Given the circumstances, scientists try to find solutions to one simple question: how can we stop the HIV epidemic from making new victims? There might an answer, the World Health Organization’s scientists say. More exactly, they used a computer model to project what would happen in a South African community if everyone was tested for HIV once a year and started on retroviral therapy immediately after a positive diagnosis, even though they appeared to be healthy.

“We found a 95 percent reduction incidence or new HIV cases in about 10 years time after implementation of the program. Or another way to look at that is that by about 2050, the prevalence or the number of people living with HIV would be less than one percent,” Reuben Granich of the World Health Organization's, Department of HIV/AIDS in Geneva, who was involved in the study, said.

Charlie Gilks, an AIDS treatment expert at the World Health Organization called the study’s result “startling,” adding that, “in a relatively short amount of time, we could potentially knock the epidemic on its head.”

This strategy would cut the estimated number of AIDS deaths between 2008 and 2050 by about half, from about 8.7 million to 3.9 million, leaving only sporadic HIV cases.

Of course, such a measure would put quite a burden on some countries. Only 3 million people are currently on AIDS drugs. Nearly 7 million people are still awaiting treatment, and about 3 million more people were infected last year. But it’s still worth trying, the scientists said.

Of course, there were voices saying that handing out AIDS drug to everyone who tests positive could also worsen drug resistance. More exactly, giving treatment to patients who are not yet sick may increase drug resistance, while the side effects of taking AIDS treatment drugs for very long periods are as yet unknown but could be severe.

Commenting over the study in an accompanying editorial in the journal The Lancet, Dr. Geoffrey Garnett, from Imperial College London looked at both positive and negative effects of such a strategy.

“At its best, the strategy would prevent morbidity and mortality for the population, both through better treatment of the individual and reduced spread of HIV. At its worst, the strategy will involve over-testing, over-treatment, side effects, resistance, and potentially reduced autonomy of the individual in their choices of care,” he said.