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Dr. Julio Montaner developed a strategy that uses anti-retroviral drugs to reduce HIV patients’ risk of transmission. Along with Dr. Judith Hall, a UBC genetisist whose work focuses on bith defects, he is being inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail

A new study provides more evidence that an HIV diagnosis is no longer the all-but-certain death sentence of years past.

Researchers say the overall life expectancy of Canadians undergoing antiretroviral treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has climbed to 65 years.

The study also reinforces the effectiveness of starting antiretroviral treatment early.

Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, says treatment not only improves the health of people living with HIV, but also reduces its transmission.

The study's principal investigator, Dr. Robert Hogg, adds that treatment providers must nonetheless remain vigilant in ensuring therapy reaches everyone, particularly vulnerable groups such as injection drug users.

The study shows that life expectancy increased less for women, injection drug users and people with First Nations ancestry.

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