New pill to protect against HIV and AIDS

Anti-AIDS pill to protect against contagion

05/16/2014

The US health authorities „Centers for Disease Control and Prevention“ (CDC) have for the first time issued a formal recommendation for a preventive medicine for HIV and AIDS for certain groups at risk. According to the study, people who have HIV-infected partners or who share drug-injection materials should first of all take the anti-AIDS pill. But even those who have unprotected sexual intercourse with changing partners, could benefit from the means, reports the news agency „Bloomberg“. Truvada - the name of the prevention pill - is said to reduce HIV infection risk by more than 90 percent.

The pill for the prevention of HIV should reduce the risk of infection by more than 90 percent
In particular, Truvada should protect people who have sex with their HIV-infected partners, as well as those who do not always use a condom when sleeping with partners from at-risk populations. Even gays and bisexuals are advised by the CDC to take Truvada when they are in open relationships - even if the HIV test of the sex partner is negative. In addition, the recommendation is for people who share materials for injecting drugs with others.

By taking the remedy, the risk of infection for HIV should be reduced by more than 90 percent. As the „New York Times“ reported that since 2010 three independent studies have come to the conclusion, „Truvada can significantly reduce the likelihood of infection when taken daily. This has been proven for homosexual men, heterosexual couples and drug users“. In the study of gay men who were confirmed by blood tests to be taking the pill every day, even 99% protection against HIV infection had been demonstrated.

Anti-AIDS pill is to be widely distributed
The pill, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc., has been officially approved as a preventive medicine against the virus that causes AIDS. Truvada actually comes from a combination of two means of the manufacturer. Back in 2012, the pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of a prevention plan with regular HIV testing and protected intercourse.

For HIV „There is no vaccine or cure in the short term. Prevention is the key, "said Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC Center for AIDS Prevention, in a telephone conversation with the news agency. „It's a remedy that can potentially save lives. "

The CDC hopes to contribute with its recommendation for the mass distribution of Truvada. The agency works with other health organizations to set up pilot projects. According to Mermin, these will initially be carried out in Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and Newark near New York City, as there are both appropriate health centers and high AIDS rates in these cities. The anti-AIDS pill, however, is anything but cheap. In the US, it should cost about $ 15,000 a year. However, Cara Miller, spokeswoman for Gilead Sciences Inc., told the news agency that Truvada does not necessarily have to be taken by patients all year round.

Critics of the pill against HIV infections fear reduced use of condoms
The official recommendation to take the drug has been met with severe criticism from some doctors, health experts and aid organizations. Because of Truvada, other venereal diseases could spread again reinforced, which protects only a condom. „If a pill protects against HIV, I do not need to use a condom anymore“, Many people could say and abstain from safer sex. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation - a nonprofit Los Angeles health care association - is also worried that condoms will be less used by the anti-AIDS pill. Michael Weinstein, president of the organization, described Truvada to the „New York Times“ when „Party Pill“. The remedy would encourage men to do without condoms, which in turn could increase the infection rate. The guidelines of the CDC are „a shameful chapter in the history of the CDC“.

Another aspect that speaks against the preventive prescription of the remedy, the side effects of the anti-AIDS pill. For this reason, according to a study by National AIDS Manual, some doctors are reluctant to prescribe Truvada. „There is the potential for adverse drug reactions in every drug, "Mermin told the news agency. „The two remedies that are used are very safe medicines. Most people do not have side effects - even if they take it daily for a year. "The Preventive Use of the Pill „has the potential to change the course of this epidemic, "said the expert. „Hopefully, the publication of the recommendations at the present time will prevent thousands of people from getting and spreading the potentially fatal disease.“ (Ag)

Image: Harald Wanetschka, Pixelio