All people with HIV should get anti-retroviral drugs - WHO

GENEVA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that all people with the HIV virus should be given anti-retroviral drugs as soon as possible after diagnosis, meaning 37 million people worldwide should be on treatment.

The WHO, in a statement expanding current guidelines, said recent clinical trials confirmed that early use of the drugs extended the lives of people with HIV and reduced the risk of transmitting it to their partners.

All people at "substantial" risk of contracting HIV should also be given preventive anti-retroviral treatment, not just men who have sex with men, it said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by John Stonestreet)