“If we do not treat the 35 million people who are already infected, the epidemic will continue.”
Q&A: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were jointly awarded the 2008 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of HIV in 1983. Here, she tells Iria Gomez-Touriño about the latest strategies to combat the virus.
HIV was discovered more than 30 years ago. How far have we come since then?
The main achievement after the discovery of HIV was the diagnostic test, which meant that we could prevent transmission of the virus by blood and blood derivatives. The next big steps were the prevention of mother-to-child transmission using the antiretroviral treatment AZT in 1994 and the advent of potent combinations of antiretroviral therapies in 1996. These are both good examples of what we call translational science, whereby basic knowledge is used to develop tests and treatments for the benefit of patients.
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