Tablets to reduce HIV infection risk?

Tablets reduce HIV infection risk

07/14/2011

The AIDS risk of infection can be significantly reduced by using a novel tablet, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Program for HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS). By taking the combination drug daily, the risk of HIV transmission in couples with an infected partner can be reduced by up to 73 percent.

Preventive use of antiretroviral drugs to healthy partners can protect them relatively well from HIV infection, UNAIDS and WHO announced on Wednesday. The risk of infection is reduced by the tablets by more than 70 percent. This provides couples with an HIV-infected partner with another option for AIDS prevention. However, the prophylactic administration of medicines to healthy people for the prevention of AIDS is not without controversy, especially since a roughly 70 percent protection in such a serious illness does not meet the safety needs of those at risk. The suspicion is obvious that here the interests of pharmaceutical companies in the sale of their products play a significant role.

Reduction of the risk of AIDS infection by antiretroviral tablets
Preventive use of antiretroviral drugs with the active ingredients tenofovir and emtricitabine, according to WHO and UNAIDS reports, significantly reduces the risk of transmission of the immune disease in couples with an HIV-infected partner. Referring to studies with heterosexual couples, health institutions called for a reduction in the risk of infection by as much as 73 percent if the healthy partner took a combination pill daily. However, the WHO and UNAIDS also pointed out that the tablets were no reason to weigh them down, because „no single method completely protects against HIV.“ Thus, the tablets would have to be combined with other preventive measures such as the use of condoms.

Questionable benefit of taking tablets for HIV prevention
However, this raises the question of why healthy people should take daily medications that can sometimes trigger significant side effects, but provide no better protection than the health-safe condoms. Of course, this would further reduce the risk of infection when using condoms, but at what price. In addition, since the same HIV prevention products are recommended as those used in the treatment of HIV patients, critics suspect that pharmaceutical manufacturers are merely trying to identify another potential use of antiretroviral drugs in their sales. (Fp)

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Picture credits: Jetti Kuhlemann