Much of the news in Geneva revolved around difficulties with existing anti-HIV regimens. The virus can mutate in a way that makes it resistant to almost any anti-HIV drug. Some strains of HIV are resistant to several drugs at the same time. Drug resistance was widely discussed both at the AIDS conference and at a satellite meeting at Lake Maggiore, Italy. There is increasing evidence that genotypic and phenotypic resistance testing can help determine whether HIV is resistant to a particular drug, and use of these tests was shown in some studies to predict successful treatment.
Drug resistance is related to lack of adherence to medication regimens.
It is still not clear how many people are affected, whether the symptoms are due to protease inhibitors or other anti-HIV drugs, why the side effects happen or what to do about them. Researchers from CDC reported that the occurrence of tuberculosis in HIV positive people is over 40 times higher than in HIV negative people. People with HIV are more likely both to have TB in the lungs and in other parts of the body. In people with certain STDs, epithelial cells lining the cervix and the prostate do not function properly, and gaps form between cells that make it easier for HIV to enter. Researchers agree that efforts to prevent and treat STDs can help reduce the rate of HIV transmission.