Balancing Treatment and Prevention: The Case of HIV/AIDS

Abstract

A mathematical model is formulated to study the effect of treatment of HIV/AIDS patients on the spread of the epidemic in a two-age group’s population. The model assumes the sexual transmission mode. A proportion δ, of the adult HIV/AIDS infects is assumed to be receiving treatment. The analysis of the model shows that treatment that is not accompanied by a positive change in social behavior will increase the number of both child and adult infections in the population. And if treatment is accompanied by a change in social behavior the epidemic could be eventually contained. The basic reproductive numbers in the case of treatment with no behavioral change and in the case treatment with behavioral change are used to make conclusions about the need to balance treatment with prevention.