antiretroviral therapy, it became possible to reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels. Once this has happened, the risk of the virus transmitting to other people is significantly lower.
The treatment’s effectiveness also means that people with HIV can expect to live long, healthy lives. As a result, increasing numbers of people with HIV have been surviving into middle and older age. In 2018, 51% of all people with a diagnosis of HIV living in the United States and its dependent areas were aged 50 years and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Out of 37,881 people who received a diagnosis of HIV that year, the CDC note, 1 in 6 were in this age group.