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Maryland HIV/AIDS advocates and
health officials expressed hope about the recent US approval of Truvada to
prevent HIV infection, but their hopes were tinged with concerns.
“My concern is that this is not
going to be a cure-all for all people at risk for HIV,” said Dr. Oxiris Barbot,
Baltimore’s health commissioner. “The population driving the epidemic is not
necessarily the one that is going to be utilizing Truvada to the greatest extent.”
Costs would deter developing-country
use of the drug to reduce HIV risk among the uninfected, said Dr. Robert C.
Gallo, director of the Institute of Human Virology in Maryland. And many people
in places such as Baltimore are uninsured and may not have access, either.
Baltimore has been aggressively
targeting at-risk populations with testing campaigns. New HIV cases are rising
fastest among men who have sex with men, while dropping for other at-risk
groups such as IV drug users, city data show. Testing and condom use are
crucial to stemming the infection rate, officials say.
For the approach to be effective,
treatment adherence and risk-reduction counseling are both key. However, “When
you are trying to look at who is on all cylinders, that is a small percentage,”
worries Eduardo Leon Guerrero, medical director at Chase Brexton Health
Services in Baltimore. The approach might work especially well in certain
groups, such as serodiscordant couples, he said.
“In order to manage my virus, I know
that I have to take a daily regimen of pills,” said a Towson man with HIV who
did not want to be identified. “They go down like vitamins now. The person that
is not infected is not equipped ... to think that way and may be more lax.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
