HIV treatment: what is PrEP?

► What is PrEP?

PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) is an antiretroviral therapy for HIV-negative people to prevent HIV infection. It is a tablet, to be taken every day, or in anticipation of risky badual activity.

This treatment is primarily intended for people in populations particularly exposed to the virus, such as men having bad with other men, transgender people or migrant people. It allows those who do not use or can not use condoms to prevent HIV infection.

At present, 7,000 people receive this treatment in France.

It is found under the name of Truvada, but generic versions also exist. The request for a patent extension from the Gilead laboratory that produces the drug was invalidated by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 25 July. This decision definitely ends the monopoly of the laboratory, and should allow more people to benefit from this treatment.

How to revive the fight against HIV?

► Is it effective?

On occasion the opening of the 22 ^e conference devoted to the fight against AIDS, ANRS Prevenir, a study conducted in France, showed very encouraging results. Of the 1,435 volunteers recruited between May 2017 and May 2018 in the Paris region, followed by the National Agency for Research on AIDS (ANRS) and the Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), no new infections n ' has been detected. In addition, none of the candidates discontinued treatment due to adverse events.

Further research has been conducted elsewhere in the world, in the United States, Uganda, Kenya, the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom. in Canada since the early 2000s. These studies have shown that if the drug is well taken, the risk of infection is minimal. Treatment is also recommended by several international bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO).

PrEP could effectively help reduce the number of new infections, as is already the case in San Francisco, in the United States, where since its launch in 2012, the figure has halved.

The international conference on AIDS opens on a background of concern

► Under what conditions can

In France, the drug received a temporary recommendation for use in December 2015, before being authorized for release in March 2017. Theoretically, everyone can ask for to follow this treatment, but it is to people particularly exposed to HIV that it addresses itself in priority.

Covered 100% by the Health Insurance, it can be issued only on prescriptio n medical. The attending physician is not authorized to prescribe it, but only a doctor from a hospital service specializing in the treatment of HIV infection or in a free information, screening and diagnostic center (CeGIDD ). There, exams will be made upstream. The renewal of the prescription can then be done by a doctor for a year.

► Can we be satisfied with this treatment to protect themselves?

If PrEP demonstrates its effectiveness against AIDS, it does not protect not other badually transmitted infections, such as hepatitis, chlamydia or syphilis. It is for this reason that it must be accompanied by regular screening for these diseases, as well as HIV testing every three months.

INFOGRAPHY: 16% of young people believe that the AIDS virus Is transmitted by perspiration

Claire Thoizet