A study has found that a drug which stops HIV infecting the body has proved to be a highly effective preventative treatment, the BBC reports.
PrEP, which contains existing HIV treatment drugs tenofovir, disoproxil and emtricitabine, works by stopping HIV from entering the body and making copies of itself. It can either be taken as a daily pill or an „event” basis before sexual intercourse.
Thousands of people are already taking PrEP through sexual health clinics – and research has been done on 24,000 people across England. Funded by NHS England, it was carried out at 157 sexual health clinics across England between October 2017 and July 2020, representing the largest ever study of this kind.
The study found use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) reduced the chances of getting HIV by around 86% when used in everyday life – taking into account inconsistent or incorrect use. Clinical trials suggested the medication is 99% effective.
Debbie Laycock, head of policy, said: „We think that there are certain communities and individuals at the moment who could benefit from PrEP but aren’t accessing it.”
„Many women just don’t know PrEP exists”, she added. While gay and bisexual men were most likely to use the drug, many people from other groups, such as straight women, would benefit from taking it.
She said the charity was calling for PrEP to be made available in pharmacies and online to widen access to it.
The UKSHA said the effectiveness of the drug would help achieve the government’s aim of zero HIV transmissions by 2030, but that more people needed to take it.
