Paris (AFP)
PrEP, for pre-exposure prophylaxis, a preventive treatment for HIV-negative people that avoids the risk of HIV infection, is a revolution in the treatment of the virus, and a hope to put an end to contaminations.
Truvada, developed by the Gilead laboratory, and with several generics, is a combination of two anti-retroviral drugs that work by blocking the establishment of HIV in the body.
In France, the second country to authorize it after the United States, PrEP benefited from a temporary recommendation for use for its preventive use in 2016, and then a marketing authorization in 2017.
According to the first studies, the effectiveness of PrEP approaches 100% in Paris, with zero infections of people followed between 2017 and 2018, according to the National Agency for Research on AIDS (ANRS) and Public Assistance- Paris Hospitals (AP-HP).
Other cities that have implemented a prevention policy around PrEP have also noted a drastic decline in diagnoses. As in Nice, where in 2018 there is a 40% drop in new HIV infections recorded.
In San Francisco, the number of new HIV cases dropped by 49% between 2012 (the year PrEP was licensed in the country) and 2016.
Treatment can be taken daily, or on demand - and depending on sexual activity. It is then a question of taking two tablets 24H to 2H before a sexual act, then a tablet 24H after and another 48H after the first taking.
Women, however, can only take continuous treatment, vaginal mucosa not responding to treatment in the same way.
In France, prescriptions are issued every three months, following a consultation in a hospital ward or in one of the free information, screening and diagnostic centers.
Each visit is accompanied by comprehensive screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as well as a discussion of practices and risks taken by patients.
© 2019 AFP