The New Zealand Aids Foundation (NZAF) says it's excited at results of a trial which suggests antiretroviral treatment could reduce transmission of the HIV virus.
The trial, conducted by the National Institutes for Health in the United States, showed treating an HIV-infected person was 96 percent effective in reducing the risk of sexual transmission of the virus to an uninfected heterosexual partner.
"We're excited by these results but realistic too," says NZAF executive director Shaun Robinson.
"It's much better not to get HIV at all, and the most effective way to prevent HIV is to use condoms and lube when you're having sex.
"However, these results suggest that early HIV testing and treatment will strengthen our response to the HIV epidemic."
Mr Robinson said the results were valid to New Zealand given patterns of infection in this country.
"Internationally, 80 percent of HIV is transmitted sexually, but in New Zealand that figure is much higher so we're very interested in these results," he says.
However, the trial results excluded gay and bisexual men, who accounted for more than 75 percent of HIV diagnoses contracted in New Zealand.
NZPA