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PrEP Still Effective Against HIV Even If Taken Only Before Sex, Study Claims

A new study suggests that taking a pill before sex can drastically reduce the risk of HIV infection.

A trial of 400 volunteers in France and in Montreal examined the effects of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) on 400 volunteers. The study found that taking PrEP—antiretroviral drugs given to HIV-negative people to prevent infection—only before a sexual encounter, rather than daily, still reduced the risk of infection by 80%.

Lead researcher Dr. Jean-Michel Molina stressed, however, that PrEP "is not intended to end the use of condoms, but to have a strategy of combination prevention."

Yusef Azad, director of policy and campaigns at the National AIDS trust, welcomed the trial's findings, telling PinkNews:

“This announcement... is another exciting piece of news in the growing and powerful evidence base on the effectiveness of PrEP. It is especially important if it suggests that PrEP might work well when taken only around the time of sex rather than daily—that could be good news for costs.

We will now need to look at how such 'intermittent PrEP' works in a 'real life' setting rather than a placebo-controlled trial.

This news adds to the urgency of the NHS deciding how to introduce PrEP effectively to reduce the current record numbers of gay and bisexual men, and others at high risk, being diagnosed with HIV in the UK.”

In May 2014, the CDC updated its guidelines to recommend PrEP for those in high-risk groups who were still negative. Previously it was only approved to treat existing HIV infections.

h/t: Gay Star News

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