Antiretroviral
drugs can provide a high level of protection against HIV for uninfected
people in heterosexual couples in which the other partner has HIV,
according to a new study.
The study included more than 1,100
HIV-uninfected people in Uganda who had a partner with HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS. The participants were given antiretroviral drugs and
received counseling support throughout the study to help them adhere to
their drug regimen.
The drug adherence rate was 97 per cent to 99 per cent in the study, which was published in the journal PLoS Medicine.
After an average follow-up period of 11
months, just 14 of the participants became infected with HIV, according
to a journal news release.
The findings provide further proof that
strict adherence to what is called antiretroviral pre-exposure
prophylaxis offers high levels of protection to uninfected people, said
Jessica Haberer, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues.
The researchers said several previous
studies in various groups (such as men who have sex with men, or women
at high risk for HIV) have shown that taking antiretroviral drugs
provided uninfected people with varying levels of protection against
HIV.
One possible explanation for the range
of findings is different levels of adherence to the antiretroviral
drugs, the researchers said.
“Proper support and assessment of
adherence will be critical for determining efficacy of [pre-exposure
prophylaxis] outside of clinical trials,” the study authors wrote.
“This data will be important for guiding ethical decisions about resource allocation for both prevention and treatment of HIV.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the study.
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