All HIV-positive South Africans with a CD4 count of 350 or below can now access government-funded antiretroviral medications, PlusNews reports. The previous threshold was a CD4 count of 200 or below. The World Health Organization recommended the higher CD4 count for earlier treatment in 2009. Recent cost analyses show that early treatment would only moderately increase costs and cumulative net savings could be seen in about 16 years.

To read the PlusNews article, click here.