Existing HIV treatment drug used in HIV prevention
22 Dec 2015
A drug originally used in the treatment of HIV-positive patients is now being used as part of a plan to help prevent the spread of the infection.
A programme called PrEP, an acronym for pre-exposure prophylaxis, was in use by some doctors to help people who were at risk of contracting HIV. Under the programme a pill of the drug Truvada, is administered to people who are at higher risk of HIV, like those with HIV positive partners.
According to Dr Rupa Patel, a PrEP programme leader at Washington University School of Medicine, even though it was not possible to stop HIV yet, there was this method that had been shown to cut down the spread of the infection.
Though the end of the epidemic was years away, of the first time there was something with which it was possible to drastically reduce the number of infections very quickly.
According to The St Louis Post-Dispatch, the use of Truvada for HIV prevention had been increasing since July of 2012 when it was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a once daily pill for that purpose. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had also given their endorsement for using Truvada for PrEP.
Truvada works by blocking the action of a particular enzyme called HIV reverse transcriptase. Once HIV reverse transcriptase was blocked, HIV was unable to replicate in the body.
Meanwhile, even as some practitioners argued that it was revolutionary, a survey from earlier this year revealed that about 34 per cent of primary care nurses and doctors had not heard of PrEP.
Also PrEP was highly debated with some HIV / AIDS care providers arguing that it could lead to an increase in the risky sexual behaviour of people infected with HIV, and encourage lack of protection during sex.
However, the CDC recommends PrEP on its website, arguing for its effectiveness. The CDC said, PrEP reduced the risk of infection with up to 92 per cent for people who were at high risk of contracting HIV.
The CDC also recommends using a combination of both PrEP and condoms for better protection when having sex with an HIV-positive partner.
