Dear doctor ,

Sorry for my poor english ... Well , my ex boyfriend who's Brazilian and lives in Rio has been recently diagnosed for Candidiasis(tongue and throat) . After an HIV test , his lab result came back positive . His T cell count is 450 . I have no information concerning his viral load . His doctor decided not to start therapy and just treated him for candidiasis . He felt much better until he stopped treatment after 2 months . Do you think it's time to start HIV treatment even if his T cell count is over 400 ? Last question : Do you know a good hospital in Rio where he could find better advice .

Thank you in advance and marry xmas . Florent from France

Dear Florent- Thank you for your questions.

In general, most physicians don't start treatment for HIV until counts are well below 400 and current treatment guidelines don't typically recommend treatment until counts fall below 350 for asymptomatic persons.

So, I'd be in agreement with your friend's doctor in Rio about waiting to initiate treatment, provided that he's otherwise feeling well.

As for hospitals in Rio, I can't speak personally to this question, though I do know that one can get very good HIV care in Brazil, and Rio in particular.

TheBody's ASO finder (ASOfinder.com) can be a useful resource for making contacts about who's who in Brazil.

Good luck, happy holidays. BY