Advances in science and perspectives of people infected with HIV in Venezuela

People infected with HIV have greatly benefitted with the advent of antiretroviral treatment (ART). UNAIDS has set targets 90-90-90 by 2020: to diagnose 90% of infected people, to provide 90% of those diagnosed with ART, and that 90% of those treated achieve the virus suppression. However, access to diagnosis and therapy is significantly lower in low-income countries. The surprising crisis in Venezuela has caused the collapse of health systems and public services, and increased poverty and malnutrition rates. HIV infected persons are greatly impacted; most of them do not have access to diagnosis and ART. The proliferation of infectious agents favor coinfections in these patients. The high opportunistic potential of Cryptosporidium, and severity of the infection is a high risk. An increase of HIV infections in the country is expected and will have a global impact in the transmission dynamics of HIV through the exceptional diaspora of Venezuelans.