The Pitiusas Islands take a step further to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and now have a new PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) clinic at the Can Misses Hospital aimed at people at risk of contracting the virus.
These include men who have sex with men and HIV-negative transsexuals over 16 years of age with at least two of the following criteria: more than ten different sexual partners in the last year, anal sex without a condom in the last year, drug use related to sex without a condom in the last year, administration of post-exposure prophylaxis on several occasions in the last year and at least one bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the last twelve months. Also covered are HIV-negative women in prostitution who report non-habitual condom use and bisexual women and men, as well as injection drug users with unsafe injection practices who do not habitually use condoms.
According to the specialist in Internal Medicine and one of the persons in charge of this new clinic, Esther García, the care is aimed at people who are not infected and who will be administered daily medication to prevent infection. It consists of two drugs (emtricitabine and tenofovir) in a single tablet, which is taken once a day on a sustained basis. The difference between this prevention treatment and that received by patients who have been exposed to HIV is that, in the latter case, it must be started within 72 hours of exposure to the virus and the medication must be taken for 28 days.
“AIDS is a chronic disease that, in 2020, 37 million people were suffering from. In Spain alone, during that year, there were 1,900 new diagnoses. It is clear that the infection is not controlled with the measures currently in place, such as condoms”, she specified yesterday.
Reduces risk of HIV infection by more than 90%
This is the reason for this clinic which, according to several recent studies, reduces the risk of infection by more than 90%, as long as the medication is not stopped, which, moreover, has hardly any adverse effects.
Before PrEP and also during treatment, a blood test is required to check the functioning of the kidneys. It also includes regular checks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Once PrEP is started, a visit is scheduled one month later and then every quarter while the treatment is maintained.
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