Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been available in the Campinas (SP) public network since January of this year and is an AIDS prevention method for those most at risk of contracting HIV. The municipality currently has 218 users of PrEP, which consists of a daily medication that blocks some of the means used by the virus to infect the body. [entenda como funciona abaixo]
On World AIDS Day, celebrated on Saturday (1), users explain to G1 the reasons for searching for PrEP and highlight its importance as an additional method of prevention, and not like a liberality for unprotected bad.
Users report the reasons that led to PrEP, an HIV prevention method.
Users indicate the reasons that led to PrEP, an HIV prevention method. Josué Lima said the referral center, located in the central part of the city, is hosting five to six new users of the HIV / AIDS prevention program. PrEP per week.
PrEP works primarily for bad workers, transgender people, men who have bad with men (MSM) and serodiscordant couples (where one of the partners is infected with HIV), so to prevent infection with the virus. The existence of an effective drug for this purpose does not, however, dispense with the orientation and spread of other prevention methods, such as condoms and lubricating gels, because of the risk of other infections. badually transmitted infections (STIs).
"There is a" mandala "that deals with a combined prevention strategy, and there are a number of things that need to be done to prevent not only HIV but also other infections, one of which is PrEP, which offers protection after seven days for bad intercourse and 20 days for badl intercourse, "says Meire Celeste Del Monte Cardoso, coordinator of a clinical study on the drug.
John (fictitious name ), aged 21, entered the world of bad workers ten years ago The young gay man says he does an average of three to four shows a week. The profile of the clientele is a bit bland, with most men being between 40 and 50 years old, pbadive.
PrEP, however, entered John's life after a situation of extreme risk, pure violence. At one of the visits, the refusal of intercourse without a condom was ignored by the "client" who took strength without the condom.
"It was a rape, it was not consensual I do not do penetration without a condom, I know it happens, not only at home, with a lot of women, a lot of transvestites … For this reason, I had to take post-exposure medication and, after all, I started taking PrEP.It's a guarantee, a letter in his sleeve if something fails. "
The young man explains that, precisely because it preserves his integrity and that of the customers, he does not mention that he is a user of the drug, which is the case with d & # 39; 39, other professionals. bad, men or women.
"If I say it openly, the demands for bad without a condom, which are not uncommon, will increase dramatically.I do not want this to happen.And PrEP is not intended for other infections. Sexuality, she will prevent HIV. "
Couple & # 39; serodifferente & # 39;
Letícia
Couple with an HIV positive, Letícia * took her PrEP three months ago and dreams of getting pregnant – Photo: Fernando Evans / G1
(fictitious name), 25 years old, is married to a HIV-positive man for six years. The discovery, "a dull sound," she says, took place a week after the wedding. The husband did not know it and the young woman, fortunately, was not infected. "Before we knew, we had bad without a condom about three times," she recalls.
In this scenario where the couple is serodifiable, that is to say that one of the partners is infected with HIV, PrEP is also another prevention option. And the reinforcement of security for that a dream comes true.
Leticia and her husband want to have a child. She says her partner, a few years old, is following up since she's discovered the infection and is already undetectable. This means that the viral load is so low that she could not infect it. Despite this, PrEP is a new barrier for the young woman.
"I take it three months.This was fine for me.In my case, it's ideal.I have a fixed partner, who follows correctly, I want to get pregnant." people who have other partners, it must be remembered that the protection is against HIV, not other diseases, such as syphilis, hepatitis C. That's why there is still ideal to have a condom. "
If John fails to mention the use of PrEP to avoid requests for bad without a condom, in the case of Leticia, the control of information is always related to prejudices . Few people in the couple's relationship know the situation. Despite advances in HIV science and control in recent decades.
"Prejudice is too much, not everyone knows, there are only a few family members, there are people who do not like to take water in the water. same glbad, using the same toothpaste.We know we have none of this. "
On the verge of completing a year on the public network PrEP should always reach new users. And the challenge for those working in the field of public health is to bring medicine, knowledge and advice to members of key populations who live in outlying areas and have lower levels of education.
Meire Del Monte explains that the profile of the 218 users of PrEP in Campinas is made up of people with a high level of education, including holders of a master's degree and a doctorate, and as a result of increased purchasing power.
"Many knew PrEP before it came to Brazil, some even because they lived outside the country.The challenge and we are working on it, is to bring PrEP to all of us. world."
In Campinas, the reference center IST / AIDS is located at the following address: Rua Regente Feijó, 637, and serves users not only of the city, but also of the region.
In the case of PrEP, says Miriam, the candidate goes through a thorough badessment of the professionals and doctors at the center to determine if they can use the drug. If the person has HIV, the treatment is different, not PrEP.
21 year old gay man, bad worker for 10 months and forced to have bad without a condom – Photo: Fernando Evans / G1
A Profi Pre-exposure to laxia (PrEP) is indicated in those most exposed to HIV.
Gay men
Men who have bad with men
Transgender people
Sex workers
Sodium couples
Repeated use of PEP (post-treatment). Exposure)
Combination of two drugs (tenofovir + emtricitabine), PrEP prevents the installation of HIV in the body of the person who has had contact with the virus during badual intercourse. However, protection only occurs if the user takes the tablets daily.
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