VANCOUVER - Treating more HIV patients will prevent the spread of the virus and save almost $1 billion in health-care costs in British Columbia over 30 years, a new study suggests.

The BC Centre for Excellence in AIDS/HIV study is the first to gauge such economic benefits of treating more people with highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART.

The study says about US$900 million would be saved if 75 per cent of all eligible B.C. residents were treated with the drug regimen, up from the current 50 per cent of infected patients.

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