Glossary

adverse event – an unexpected or unwanted effect during a research study. Sometimes this used to describe a side effect from a drug.

Although all side effects are adverse events, not all adverse events are side effects.

recency HIV test – this is a type of HIV test that can indicate whether you recemtly became HIV positive. This is defined as being the last six months.

It is sometimes called a detuned or RITA test (Recent Infection Treatment Algorithm). In the UK, this test is used to be called STARHS (Serological Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion).

It is also sometimes called a de-tuned or recency HIV test.

See this Q&A on RITA testing.

duration – how long in time.

pegylated interferon (PEG interferon) – treatment for hepatitis C, given in combination with ribavirin. Given as a onceweekly injection.

TasP (Treatment as Prevention) – a term to emphasise the impact that HIV drugs (ART) has on dramatically reducing the chance of HIV transmission.

ART is firstly for the health of the HIV positive person. But having an undetectable viral load on ART makes it so difficult to transmit HIV that the risk gets so close to zero that it is effectively zero.

For example, in the PARTNER study, nearly 900 couples had sex more than 58,000 times without condoms, without any transmissions. Each couple included one person who was HIV positive with an undetectable viral load on ART and one person who was HIV negative. ZERO transmissions.