Health workers will be out on street to treat people who are HIV positive, people who are using drugs to battle the virus out and people in whom the virus has not been diagnosed. This will take place under a four-year, $48-million program called Seek and Treat.

The programme aims to implement Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART, meant to target groups that are not easily accessible like prostitutes and injection-drug users. They will operate in Prince George and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

"This effort is about outreach and support, over and above throwing pills to people," Julio Montaner, director of the B. C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the prime mover behind the program, said yesterday.

A remarkable finding by researchers is a therapy, a drug cocktail that decreases the spread of the virus by sterilizing the fluids present in the body of those who are on it.

Program funding announced yesterday by B. C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon includes $1.5-million from pharmaceutical company Merck to help in estimate.

Mr Falcon said, "The outreach program has the potential to avert 173 HIV infections over five years, representing about $65-million in avoided HIV treatment costs."

The launch of the programme was attended by B. C. artist Tiko Kerr. It was difficult for Kerr, supported by several other patients and Dr Montaner, to obtain access to experimental HIV drugs and they had to battle it out with Canadian health regulators for doing this.