ViroBlogy

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Taking Truvada daily can help people in at-risk groups prevent H.I.V. infection, but the consequences of loose adherence go beyond contracting the virus.

A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration took a historic step last week when they recommended that the agency for the first time approve a drug that healthy people can take once a day to prevent H.I.V. infection.
Such a pill has long been a goal of research, something that might help stem a global epidemic that is still causing two million new worldwide cases each year, including 50,000 in the United States.

But the panel members worried about how to make sure doctors and patients would use the drug correctly. Otherwise, they said, the potential harm could be huge — not just to those taking the pill, but also to their sexual partners.

While this is a very important step towards preventing HIV infection, it is equally important to remember that it IS only a step – and not the final solution.  Condoms remain the better option, in that a barrier is better than a drug; however, the chemical option may help curb the spread of the virus where other measures have not.

Until we get vaccines!!

See on www.nytimes.com

This entry was posted on 15 May, 2012 at 16:17 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.