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On July 1, all of Mexico was attentive to the results of PREP, the Preliminary Electoral Results Program.
But there is another PrEP that is just as important for many people: those living with HIV As we all know, HIV infection has ceased to be fatal to become a disease essentially chronic since, in the nineties, highly active antiretroviral treatments appeared (HAART or "cocktail" antiretroviral). They consist of at least three different drugs that simultaneously attack the virus, making it virtually impossible to mutate to become resistant to all three drugs.
Although the treatment is expensive (about 15 thousand pesos per month per patient), it is much more cheap to treat infected patients who reach the AIDS stage. And, of course, this prevents thousands of deaths.
In countries like ours, where treatment is available for free for those who need it, HAART HAART has changed the culture of HIV / AIDS prevention. Especially if they accompany campaigns of intensive and constant use of condoms.
But in recent years, the arsenal against HIV has been expanded with what is called pre-exposure prophylaxis or pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is recommended that uninfected people at constant risk: having a positive partner, having risky practices or having sex with people who are infected or whose condition is unknown, etc. It consists of using one of the available antiretroviral drugs (tenofovir and emtricitabine), at the usual dose: one tablet per day.
Recently, health authorities have informed that PrEP would be available free in Mexico City through Condesa Specialty Clinic, as well as in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, as part of a pilot program
It may It seems irresponsible to invest in expensive treatments to avoid HIV infections when there is something as cheap, safe and accessible as a condom. But the reality is that there are people who simply do not use it, negligently or for more complex reasons, such as the paradoxical eroticization of unprotected sex and even the movements bareback who defend the right to have sex without a condom And although it is recommended to use PrEP with a condom, the truth is that many people just want to do the same. love without using it. For these cases, PrEP is valid and useful because it can prevent a significant number of infections.
But of course, PrEP also has drawbacks. Its prolonged use can affect the kidney or cause decalcification of the bones. And since it encourages sex without a condom, it can cause an increase in other types of sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis or gonorrhea.
(Special mention must be made of PEP prophylaxis or post-exposure, with the same medication prescribed persons who have been accidentally exposed to the virus.)
It is good that there are new options, and there are people for whom they can be useful and even necessary. But without a doubt, the best and most advisable would be to strengthen campaigns for the wide and regular use of condoms: the best alternative not only to avoid HIV infection, but also to prevent HIV infection. other diseases.
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