HIV Digest	HIV Digest Archive

Providing post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) antiretroviral treatment to people after they may have been exposed to HIV is an effective way to prevent them from becoming infected and does not appear to promote high-risk behavior in people who know this option is available, a new study finds.

PEP has long been available in occupational settings. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control expanded their guidelines to cover people exposed to HIV outside the workplace, including through condom breakage, risky sex, or drug use.

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To examine the feasibility of a non-occupational PEP program organized and funded by the community, the researchers conducted a project in which people were offered a 28-day course of antiretroviral treatment within 72 hours of potential HIV exposure

One hundred people, 95 of them men, enrolled in the project. Participants were provided drug treatment, HIV testing, and counseling for up to 26 weeks after enrollment. Fifty-eight participants reported having unprotected anal sex, while 18 percent reported condom breakage. Of the 84 people given the full course of antiretroviral treatment, 75 percent actually took all the medicine. No one became HIV-positive during the study. Study authors noted that some health officials have been hesitant to offer PEP after risky sex or drug use for fear that people would not change their behavior if they knew "there's a parachute somewhere they can take to stay negative." However, the researchers found people reduced their risky behavior after using PEP, rather than increasing it.

from Reuters