Slate the CDC Comes out Swinging for Truvada, an HIV-Preventing
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Slate The CDC Comes Out Swinging for Truvada, an HIV-Preventing Miracle Drug http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/05/15/cdc_supports_truvada_a_drug_that_preven ts_hiv.html?wpisrc=burger_bar By Mark Joseph Stern Truvada, which prevents HIV infection with a single daily pill, is the miracle drug that almost nobody takes. It prevents HIV more reliably than condoms, which can break. It has exceedingly minimal side effects. It’s covered by most private insurers and state Medicaid programs. But because of its novelty, doctors have been wary of prescribing it—and because of the absurd stigma it still carries, its target audience has been hesitant to take it. That’s all about to change. This week, as part of its cheerfully named Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC came out swinging for Truvada, unequivocally encouraging health care professionals to prescribe the drug to numerous at-risk groups. So far, those groups include anybody in a serodiscordant relationship, non-monogamous gay and bi men who sometimes have unprotected sex, straight men and women who sometimes have unprotected sex with drug users or bi men, and anybody who injects illicit drugs. To my mind, these categories are still a bit under-inclusive. It’s alarmingly easy to get HIV through anal sex: Condoms are more likely to break during anal intercourse than vaginal intercourse, and the HIV transmission risk from anal sex is 18 times higher than from vaginal penetration. As I’ve written before, there’s nothing inherently unhealthy about anal sex. But unless you’re in a monogamous relationship with someone who’s HIV-negative, the risk of HIV transmission during gay anal intercourse is always going to be a little higher than you’re probably comfortable with. Of course, I understand why the CDC didn’t simply recommend Truvada for all sexually active gay men: That’d be going too far, too soon, and might carry an insulting, even condescending undertone. But the spirit of the new guidelines clearly leans in that direction. Truvada isn’t necessary for every man who has sex with another man. But if you’re a man who has sex with men, plural, you should consider getting a prescription. By this point, the science on Truvada is largely settled. It’s only the stigma that continues to prevent gay Americans from fully embracing a drug that could save their lives. Mark Joseph Stern is a writer for Slate. He covers science, the law, and LGBTQ issues. --- Time http://time.com/100266/cdc-anti-hiv-pill-recommendation/ CDC Recommends Anti-HIV Pill for High-Risk Groups The daily medication, sold in generic form as Truvada, could transform AIDS prevention in America The U.S. government has officially recommended that hundreds of thousands of people at risk for AIDS take a daily drug that is effective in preventing the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an official recommendation Wednesday that people at high-risk of contracting AIDS take Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which is known to help prevent infection with HIV, the virus that causes the disease. If taken regularly, the drug can reduce risk of infection in high-risk populations by up to 92%. PreP comes in a generic version called Truvada and is used widely in AIDS treatment programs in poor countries, The CDC’s recommendation could, if followed widely, increase the number of people taking the drug in the U.S. from fewer than 10,000 to half a million, the New York Times reports. The CDC recommends the drug, in combination with condom use, to gay men who have sex without using condoms, heterosexuals who sleep with intravenous drug users or bisexuals, and anyone who has sex with someone they know to be HIV-positive, as well as anyone who shares needles or injects drugs. HIV rates have held stubbornly flat for the past decade, and a sharp decline in condom usage has raised concerns among health officials. --- NBCNews.com http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/use-daily-pill-prevent-hiv-infections-cdc- recommends-n105766 Use Daily Pill to Prevent HIV Infections, CDC Recommends U.S. health officials recommend that people at high risk for HIV infection be given daily antiretroviral drugs, such as Truvada. U.S. health officials recommended Wednesday that people at high risk for HIV infection be given daily pills to help prevent it. The new guidelines, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urge health care providers to consider pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, which provides daily antiretroviral drugs to those at risk of infection. “HIV infection is preventable, yet every year we see some 50,000 new HIV infections in the United States,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said. “PrEP, used along with other prevention strategies, has the potential to help at-risk individuals protect themselves and reduce new HIV infections in the U.S.” The recommendation follows a 2010 study that found that Truvada, Gilead Science’s pill already used to treat HIV — human immunodeficiency virus — was more than 90 percent effective at preventing HIV infections among those who took the drugs. In 2012, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the daily drug combination of 300 milligrams of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and 200 milligrams of emtricitabine for prevention treatment. The strategy should be recommended to certain people at substantial risk for infection, the CDC said, including people in an ongoing sexual relationship with someone with HIV and those who don’t use condoms and have sex with people at risk for HIV, including injection drug users. The guidelines offer the first comprehensive instructions from CDC for PrEP. Users should have an HIV test before they start treatment to make sure they’re not already infected, the guidelines say. About 1.2 million people in the U.S. live with HIV and about 50,000 new infections are diagnosed each year, the CDC says. --- Daily Digest News http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/05/cdc-makes-controversial-decision-to-urge-daily-pill-for- preventing-hiv-infection/ CDC makes controversial decision to urge daily pill for preventing HIV infection By John Tyburski, Daily Digest News The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has endorsed a pharmaceutical pre- exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and is recommending its daily use by those at risk for getting human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. The CDC recommends the pills be used by at-risk individuals in combination with other preventive methods such as condoms and regular HIV screening. Truvada is recommended for people who do not have HIV and are at substantial risk for getting HIV through sexual transmission and injection drug use. Details for defining substantial risk are listed on the CDC’s PrEP online resource page. People who use Truvada must do so every day in order for the pills to work to their potential. The CDC recommends HIV screening and follow-up with a health care provider every three months. An estimated 50,000 new HIV cases are reported each year, and there is no vaccine or cure now or expected in the foreseeable future. Since the mid-1990s, more people live with HIV because of the reduction of AIDS brought about by highly-active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART. An estimated 1.1 million people currently live with HIV in the U.S. Among these, almost 500,000 are eligible for PrEP. The pills are marketed under the name Truvada by Gilead Sciences Inc. in Foster City, California, and consist of two active drugs, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Fewer than 10,000 people are prescribed Truvada, which costs about $15,000 per year. The drug combination is sold worldwide and has generated approximately $3.1 billion in sales last year alone for Gilead. Not all experts in the HIV/AIDS battle are supportive the CDC’s decision. Experts with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AFP), a Los-Angeles-based non-profit organization that provides health care to over 300,000 patients, worry that the push for PrEP may lead to a decline in condom use and subsequent increases in other sexually transmitted disease cases. “This is a position I fear the CDC will come to regret,” said AFP president Michael Weinstein in a statement. Through this recommendation, ’’the CDC has abandoned a science-driven, public health approach to disease prevention—a move that will likely have catastrophic consequences in the fight against AIDS in this country,’’ he said. The side effects reported for Truvada are bone weakness over time, upset stomach, loss of appetite, and renal issues in those with underlying metabolic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. --- Techsonia http://www.techsonia.com/prescription-drug-may-revolutionize-hiv-prevention/197941/ Prescription drug may revolutionize HIV prevention For years, we’ve been told the best way – and the only way – to prevent HIV is by practicing safe sex, and avoid coming into contact with used needles. However, on Wednesday, Federal Health Authorities advocated that those at risk of HIV infection talk to their doctors about Truvada, a once-a-day prescription medication that has been shown to prevent HIV infection. Multiple studies of gay men, drug users, and heterosexual couples have shown that when taken daily, Truvada can significantly decrease the risk of HIV infection. For this reason, health authorities recommend Pre-exposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP for anyone who shares needles or is an intravenous drug user, gay men who have unprotected sex, and heterosexuals who have high-risk sexual partners. If use of Truvada becomes widespread, it could revolutionize the HIV prevention strategy in the United States.