The researchers said that the urine test may prove more popular than blood tests because many people seek to avoid needles, and the test may be safer due to the reduction of the risk of needlestick accidents. The researchers determined adherence rates by using participant self-reports, randomly scheduled pill counts, and electronic monitors in pill bottles. Adherence was monitored for up to ten weeks. The researchers noted that the three adherence measures used gave similar results. The study was published in the March issue of AIDS .
Adherence continues to be a major contributor to the success of anti-HIV therapy.
In 1997, he became ill, experienced an increase in viral load and a decrease in CD4 cell count, and did not respond to new anti-HIV therapies. The man reported that he had recently begun a new relationship with a partner who had extensive experience with antiretroviral drugs and had developed drug-resistant virus. The first man's HIV was originally distinct from that of his partner, but later became similar to the partner's resistant strain. Seventy-eight percent of participants successfully completed the full course of treatment. The CDC's Helene Gayle said that if oral sex alone played a large role in the spread of AIDS, this would already have become obvious during the past 20 years.