Truvada, a breakthrough in HIV prevention
Truvada, a breakthrough in HIV prevention.
Truvada drug has emerged as a new warrior in the
battle against AIDS and HIV, however the drug's acceptation among the
public in the fight against HIV and AIDS has been slow.
The drug was approved in 2000s for the treatment of affected patients,
and it works by slowing the progression of the disease and reducing the
amount of deadly virus in the human body.
In July 2012, Truvada was approved for Pre-exposure prophylaxis. The use
was meant for those people, who might be at risk of contracting HIV
virus, used as a preventive measure.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released
guidelines this year in May about who can take Truvada. The
recommendations involved half a million people, which is seen as a
significant increase from the 2000 people, who are already taking the
drugs at the moment.
In spite of Truvada's approval as a precautionary measure, many
healthcare providers have been reluctant in accepting it. Moreover,
there have been some backlashes from gay communities as well.
There have been some misunderstandings on how Truvada should be used
that have led to unacceptable by healthcare providers. However, there
are clear guidelines recommended by CDC about who should use the
medicine.
According
to Michael Weinstein, who is the president of AIDS Healthcare
Foundation, the drug should be taken daily but it is not certain whether
people will take the drug every day.
Missing the pill or not taking it every day actually reduces the overall
effectiveness of the drug. Moreover, Truvada does not protect against
other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), therefore using the medicine
to prevent AIDS might lead to assumption that there is no need to use
condoms, which can encourage the occurrence of other diseases as well.
The drug requires a preliminary HIV test along with follow-up tests
every 3 months for STD and HIV infections. There will be tests for organ
damage owing to drug toxicity as well. Truvada costs almost 13,000
dollars a year, which is expensive, though several insurers cover it.
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