ARV and Me

ARV, or Antiretroviral drug, is a treatment used to induce a decrease in HIV reproduction. However, just as most other drugs, it is just as prone to susceptibility in terms of attempting to fight a resistant virus.

Once a person has HIV, the virus immediately begins to multiply. As the virus multiplies, it continually mutates. If there is ever an irregular intake of a drug intended to be taken within a certain timeframe, the virus has the opportunity to adapt to the environment it had originally been put in. Therefore, rather than being weakened, it develops a means to avoid attacks by mutation.

This is a significant problem in urban areas, considering that the HIV strain - one that has mutated to conform to antimicrobial resistance - can be translated into other individuals. In other words, if a person that has a drug resistant HIV infection infects another person, the other individual will also suffer from a drug resistant HIV infection.

The definition of drug resistance itself is explanatory. However, it is important to emphasize just how drastic this can affect those who are following the proper steps with ARV treatment, and those that abuse it - intentionally or not. The misuse of the antibiotic, if it becomes to drastic, could potentially create a pull toward the treatment entirely. While in retrospect this might support cost benefits, individuals could potentially lose their HIV/AIDS specific health care if the antimicrobial resistance is NOT present in their strain of HIV.

The World Health Organization released a guideline in 2015 on when to start ARV therapy. Rather than waiting for an infected individual to face harsh consequences of a stirring, ever-reproducing virus, there was instruction to begin ARV treatment upon HIV identification. While there was speculation and a potential for an increase in drug resistance, they found that there were lower cases of ARV resistant HIV in comparison to two years prior. A potential study could be to further investigate this method. Since the method has only been proceeding for three years, there hasn't been enough time to confirm whether or not the study is truly, TRULY effective.

A new study, however, that could be done if given unlimited funds and unlimited time, would be to perform "microbiological surgery." To be more specific, if there were a way that could be developed to find source antibiotic resistant viral cells, isolate them, and deactivate their gene once an individual has STARTED to take their ARV treatment, then if something were to happen in the future leading to a misuse of the treatment, the resistant strains would be replicated as 'dead/deactivated cells.'

https://www.who.int/hiv/pub/guidelines/earlyrelease-arv/en/