Antiviral drugs help prevent HIV infection in injecting drug users
Treatment of injecting drug users with antiviral medications can reduce their chances of HIV infection, according to a new study published Wednesday in the British medical journal The Lancet.
The Bangkok Tenofovir Study was held in Bangkok, Thailand, 2005-2013.Ele was run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Public Health.
The researchers recruited more than 24,000 people in 17 locations. Half took tenofovir pill - a drug antiretroviral - daily, while the other half received a placebo. Participants were followed for about four years. The researchers found that taking the drug to reduce your chances of infection by 49% by almost half - about 49%.
This is not the first study to show that PrEP - pre-exposure prophylaxis - is effective in reducing HIV transmission in high-risk groups. Studies have been conducted in heterosexual and homosexual and bisexual men. But according to the CDC, this is the first study of its kind to prove effective in reducing the rate among those who inject drugs.
"This study completes the picture of the efficacy of PrEP for all major risk groups for HIV," said Dr. Michael Martin, head of clinical research for the Thailand Ministry of Public Health-CDC collaboration. "We now know that pre-exposure prophylaxis may be a potentially vital option for HIV prevention in people at high risk of infection is through sexual transmission or intravenous drug use."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that "the important real breakthrough here is the proof of concept that in another high-risk group - IV drug users - pre-exposure prophylaxis may work if individuals adhere to taking the drug. "
The study found that the reduction rate for those who took their daily routine was even higher - 74%.
"The membership was a key factor in determining the effectiveness in our study among people who inject drugs, as it has been in previous PrEP studies examining sexual transmission," said Martin. "These findings underscore the importance of helping people who use pre-exposure prophylaxis achieve effective levels of membership."
It can often be difficult to directly attribute the protective effect of antiviral drugs on people who get infected by injecting drug use, said Salim Karim, professor and director of the Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa This is because, he says, some drug users engage in risky behaviors such as prostitution to support a drug habit.
"Even though questions remain about the extent to which PrEP may be effective in preventing route of transmission in this group, the overall result is that daily tenofovir reduced HIV transmission among injecting drug users," said Karim. "The introduction of PrEP for HIV prevention for injecting drug users should be considered as an additional component to accompany other proven prevention strategies such as needle exchange programs, methadone programs, the promotion of safe sex and injecting practices, condoms and HIV counseling and testing. "
UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS, called the study results from a complement of other PrEP studies released over the past few years.
"Piece by piece, scientific advances are paving the way to the end of the AIDS epidemic," said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The potential of antiretroviral therapy in keeping people alive and well and in preventing new HIV infections is becoming apparent. Results of this study are important, and if used effectively in HIV, may have an impact significant in protecting people who inject drugs to get infected with HIV. "
So far, all the evidence suggests PrEP is safe and effective for reducing the risk of HIV infection in high-risk populations, and no concerns about its daily use, the CDC says.
Posted by: Saundra Young - CNN Medical Senior Producer
Filed under: CDC • Conditions • HIV / AIDS
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Treatment of injecting drug users with antiviral medications can reduce their chances of HIV infection, according to a new study published Wednesday in the British medical journal The Lancet.
The Bangkok Tenofovir Study was held in Bangkok, Thailand, 2005-2013.Ele was run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Public Health.
The researchers recruited more than 24,000 people in 17 locations. Half took tenofovir pill - a drug antiretroviral - daily, while the other half received a placebo. Participants were followed for about four years. The researchers found that taking the drug to reduce your chances of infection by 49% by almost half - about 49%.
This is not the first study to show that PrEP - pre-exposure prophylaxis - is effective in reducing HIV transmission in high-risk groups. Studies have been conducted in heterosexual and homosexual and bisexual men. But according to the CDC, this is the first study of its kind to prove effective in reducing the rate among those who inject drugs.
"This study completes the picture of the efficacy of PrEP for all major risk groups for HIV," said Dr. Michael Martin, head of clinical research for the Thailand Ministry of Public Health-CDC collaboration. "We now know that pre-exposure prophylaxis may be a potentially vital option for HIV prevention in people at high risk of infection is through sexual transmission or intravenous drug use."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that "the important real breakthrough here is the proof of concept that in another high-risk group - IV drug users - pre-exposure prophylaxis may work if individuals adhere to taking the drug. "
The study found that the reduction rate for those who took their daily routine was even higher - 74%.
"The membership was a key factor in determining the effectiveness in our study among people who inject drugs, as it has been in previous PrEP studies examining sexual transmission," said Martin. "These findings underscore the importance of helping people who use pre-exposure prophylaxis achieve effective levels of membership."
It can often be difficult to directly attribute the protective effect of antiviral drugs on people who get infected by injecting drug use, said Salim Karim, professor and director of the Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa This is because, he says, some drug users engage in risky behaviors such as prostitution to support a drug habit.
"Even though questions remain about the extent to which PrEP may be effective in preventing route of transmission in this group, the overall result is that daily tenofovir reduced HIV transmission among injecting drug users," said Karim. "The introduction of PrEP for HIV prevention for injecting drug users should be considered as an additional component to accompany other proven prevention strategies such as needle exchange programs, methadone programs, the promotion of safe sex and injecting practices, condoms and HIV counseling and testing. "
UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS, called the study results from a complement of other PrEP studies released over the past few years.
"Piece by piece, scientific advances are paving the way to the end of the AIDS epidemic," said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The potential of antiretroviral therapy in keeping people alive and well and in preventing new HIV infections is becoming apparent. Results of this study are important, and if used effectively in HIV, may have an impact significant in protecting people who inject drugs to get infected with HIV. "
So far, all the evidence suggests PrEP is safe and effective for reducing the risk of HIV infection in high-risk populations, and no concerns about its daily use, the CDC says.
Posted by: Saundra Young - CNN Medical Senior Producer
Filed under: CDC • Conditions • HIV / AIDS
68
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0
inShare
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• Teen featured in viral video dies CNN Health
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