PrEP has been found to be 90 percent effective in preventing people from getting HIV when exposed to the virus during sex and is seen as a second line of defense against condoms breaking or a means for people who do not practice safe sex or engage in intravenous drug use to decrease their chances of becoming infected. The PrEP pill can reduce injection drug users’ risk of HIV by more than 70 percent, the experts said.
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Health care providers must help boost patient awareness and use of the drug, health experts stressed.
While important, PrEP is one of a number of HIV prevention strategies.
A separate analysis published today in Vital Signs suggests that focused efforts can significantly expand the reach of PrEP. Researchers from the NY State Department of Health report that PrEP use among New Yorkers covered by Medicaid increased from 303 prescriptions filled from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014, to 1,330 prescriptions filled from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015 in the year following the launch of a statewide effort to increase PrEP knowledge among potential prescribers and candidates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Tuesday showing that a vast group of people who should be taking PrEP for HIV prevention have not been educated on the drug.
In the US, approximately 40,000 people are diagnosed each year with HIV.
The regimen for those PrEP consists of a daily pill, taken orally, known as Truvada, which is made from a combination of two antiretroviral drugs and is manufactured by Gilead Sciences.
“Reducing the toll of HIV in this nation will require matching the right tools to the right people”, said Eugene McCray, M.D., director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. Heterosexual adults who have multiple partners and have unprotected sex with people who inject drugs are considered high-risk, for instance.
“The science clearly calls out that PrEP works”, said Mermin.
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In response to reporters’ questions, Schuchat noted that the biggest side effect of Truvada is its effect on the kidneys, which is why the CDC recommends that people taking Truvada as PrEP get tested every few months to check that their kidneys are functioning properly and their body is tolerating the medication. “In addition, the lives of Americans are too important not to get PrEP to those who really need it”.
