Study Says HIV Drug Tenofovir Also Helps Prevent Contraction Of The Virus

June 13, 2013

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that a daily pill can prevent the contraction of HIV for intravenous drug users.

The four-year study, which was published in The Lancet, boosts the argument of those advocating a preventative strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.

This is a significant step forward for HIV prevention, Jonathan Mermin, a CDC spokesman who was not directly involved in the study, told the AFP. We now know that PrEP can work for all populations at increased risk for HIV.

Injection drug use accounts for a substantial portion of the HIV epidemic around the world, and we are hopeful that PrEP can play a role in reducing the continued toll, he added.

The study included 2,400 intravenous drug users in Thailand who were attending drug treatment clinics and did not test positive for HIV when the study began. The volunteers were divided into two groups: one was given a daily dose of the HIV drug tenofovir, while the other was given a placebo.

Both groups were offered monthly testing for HIV, condoms and treatments for their drug dependency. To encourage volunteers in a subject group that is notoriously unreliable, participants were given $8.75 for each month they kept participating in the study and an additional $8.75 for each week they came to the clinic on all seven days. They also received $1.90 for each day they appeared. Even those who only made monthly appearance at the clinic were paid to keep drug-use diaries.

After the four years, 17 individuals had become infected in the tenofovir group, and 33 in the control group a 49 percent risk reduction. Those who adhered strictly to the drug regimen were 70 less likely to contract the virus, according to the study.

Researchers were unsure how the tenofovir translated into risk reduction as addicts have been known to both share needles as well as prostitute themselves for drug money.

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Study Says HIV Drug Tenofovir Also Helps Prevent Contraction Of The Virus