Anti-HIV Pill Is Gaining Solid Ground
The anti-HIV pill is gaining solid ground as it proves its effectiveness in more and more cases. High-risk individuals seem to be HIV-free after using the pill, so it is safe to say that the new prevention technique might become very popular within a very short time span.
Two new studies have concluded that the pill is ready to go and we want to take a quick look to fill you in. The first study was conducted within the San Francisco area and 657 people were HIV-free after having taken the Truvada pill. So the safety area is rapidly extending to approximately 1,000 people. It is not there yet, but if things continue to evolve as they did until now, the pill will not have any major problem.
The second study was conducted in the UK and the people who took Truvada also registered a considerable lower risk of HIV diagnostics. So the pill was tested in two different regions of the world and it gave positive results in both cases. Looks quite promising, right? Perhaps there will be several other studies conducted in other regions and continuous positive results will ensure the world.
Gilead is the manufacturer of Truvada. The pill was approved in the U.S. for what is known as “pre-exposure prophylaxis” or, more shortly known as, PrEP. Truvada was deemed to reduce the risk of getting infected with HIV by as much as 92% and this was confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the pill does not work very well against a number of different STIs.
The good news is that HIV is a virus that is not at all easy to deal with. While other sexually transmitted diseases can be treated with antibiotics, HIV cannot and it also leaves the infected patient scarred for life, both physically and mentally. The pill needs to be taken once every day in order to ensure its success and, for the time being, it is the most effective anti-HIV combat measure that we have.
Moreover, scientists believe that this is a major step forward in how we understand and treat the HIV. While we have discovered a measure to counter it, the struggle continues to bring the number of infected people to a minimum, or even eliminate the virus once and for all. It is a rather ambitious endeavor, but we have to admit that we have come a long way.
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