The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is promoting the daily intake of an anti-HIV pill for high-risk patients, to reduce the threat of the infection by as much as 90 percent.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is recommended for those with ongoing sexual relationships with an HIV-infected partner, as well as anyone who has injected illegal drugs and shared equipment, or been in a treatment program for injection drug use within the past six months.
Other patients who need to consider taking the drug are gay or bisexual men who do not use condoms during sex, or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection within the past six months. Heterosexual men or women who don't use protection when having sex with high-risk people such as drug users or folks of unknown HIV status are also in danger. Those with multiple sexual partners are encouraged to take the anti-HIV pill as well.
The CDC has created comprehensive guidelines for the drug with the help of other federal health agencies, as well as public experts and community leaders. The guidelines give providers information on how to support people in taking the drug daily, and also push them to promote the use of the drug in conjunction with condoms and other strategies that reduce the risk of infection.
The guidelines also put an emphasis on HIV testing before PrEP use, as well as testing at three-month intervals after use of the drug has started. In addition to the guidelines, supplements with checklists and interview guides for PrEP prescribing and counseling will also be released to providers.
"HIV infection is preventable, yet every year we see some 50,000 new HIV infections in the United States," CDC director Tom Frieden said in a press release. "PrEP, used along with other prevention strategies, has the potential to help at-risk individuals protect themselves and reduce new HIV infections in the US."
Full details of the guidelines were published in the May 14 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
