The next step in HIV prevention — long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — is not yet available in Canada, a year after its approval in the U.S.
PrEP is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV infection when taken as directed.
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Judge Reed O'Connor ruled in a case that coverage for HIV prevention medicine PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. It is unclear whether the order will extend nationwide.
Medical experts have recommended that HIV criminal laws be revised.
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South Africa’s data rollout of its pre-exposure prophylaxis shows that there is a relatively slow, but increasing, uptake. However, more needs to be done to target young women.
Trials have shown that rates of HIV infection are reduced if people not infected with HIV take anti-retrovirals - known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). But adherence to a daily dose is a problem.
Young women who attended the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.
International AIDS Society/Rogan Ward
The focus of the 2016 International AIDS Conference has on access to necessary antiretrovirals, equity and making sure no-one is left behind. But there is a funding gap that needs to be addressed.
Testing and treatment is important in tackling HIV. But stigma and access need to be addressed too.
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Taking antiretrovirals is key to reducing HIV infection rates, but the challenge lies in making sure people who know they are infected actually take the drugs.
The more scientists understand about what drives HIV transmission, the more they can start to fight the virus.
Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
If the vaginal ring becomes available for commercial use it will become one of the tools in the HIV prevention toolbox for women alongside female condoms and daily pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Treatment has transformed the outlook for people living with HIV from almost certain death to a manageable chronic condition.
Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Globally, the health community is moving to a point where there could be zero new HIV infections or deaths. But it has been a long road.
The WHO has recommended pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, as an additional HIV prevention choice for people with a high risk of being infected. Truvada has been licensed in South Africa.
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Young women in southern Africa are most at risk of becoming infected with HIV. If they take a pre-exposure prophylaxis like Truvada it could change their lives.
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
Associate Professor, Public Health & Social Policy; Special Advisor Health Research, Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Victoria