A study has confirmed that researchers have been able to conclude that a drug that stops HIV from infecting the body is highly effective.
TopNaija gathered that the drug proved to be highly effective as a “real-world” preventative treatment.
The study included 24,000 participants from throughout England, and the findings were regarded as “reassuring” by the BBC.
Thousands of individuals have already begun to use PrEP via sexual health clinics.
The PrEP Impact Trial, conducted by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in collaboration with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was described as the biggest real-world research of its type. Between October 2017 and July 2020, it was carried out at 157 sexual health clinics throughout England.
The investigation discovered the usage of PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis. When used in daily life, it lowered the risks of contracting HIV by around 86% – even when irregular or inappropriate usage was included. According to clinical testing, the medicine is 99% effective.
Dr John Saunders, a consultant in sexual health and HIV who worked on the study, said: “This trial has further demonstrated the effectiveness of PrEP in preventing HIV transmission and has, for the first time, shown the protective effect reported by earlier trials, but at scale, and delivered through routine sexual health services in England.”
The Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity applauded the study’s release but said that “more needs to be done” to promote access to and knowledge of the medicine, especially among certain minority communities.
Debbie Laycock, head of policy, said: “We think that there are certain communities and individuals at the moment who could benefit from PrEP but aren’t accessing it.”
“Many women just don’t know PrEP exists,” she added.
She said the charity was calling for PrEP to be made available in pharmacies and online to widen access to it.
Dr Saunders said that although the clinical success of the drug had been proven, this study revealed other important information about how it is used.
“Before, we didn’t know how many people would want it, take it, or how long they would stay on it for,”he said.
“Now we know who is being prescribed it and we can work with clinics to try and get more people to take it.”
He said that “real-world effectiveness” was dependent on many factors, particularly whether the drug is taken correctly.
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