Posts
Injecting drug users are at high
risk of contracting HIV from needle sharing and sex. A study by CDC and the
Thailand government showed that the drug tenofovir, used for treating HIV/AIDS,
protected injecting drug users from contracting HIV.
In this study with 2,400 uninfected
patients at 17 drug treatment clinics in Bangkok, Thailand, one-half of the
participants received daily tenofovir and the other half received placebo. All
participants received condoms and counseling on HIV prevention. After four
years of follow-up, both groups exhibited equal levels of risky behavior such
as needle sharing and multiple sex partners. Results showed that 17
participants contracted HIV in the group that received tenofovir, compared to
33 in the placebo group. This meant that tenofovir treatment reduced the risk
of acquiring HIV by 49 percent.
US health officials now recommend
that doctors consider prescribing a daily antiretroviral to people who inject
drugs similar to current recommendations already in place for gay men and
serodiscordant couples at high risk of contracting HIV.
The full report, “Antiretroviral
Prophylaxis for HIV Infection in Injecting Drug Users in Bangkok, Thailand (the
Bangkok Tenofovir Study): A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase
3 Trial,” was published in the journal Lancet (2013; 381 (9883):2083–2090).
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!
