Thu 17 Sep 2015 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Experts are calling for wider availability of PrEP in Australia, with experts saying it could halve the nation's transmission rate. The antiretroviral pill for people who are HIV negative can be imported for personal use across the Tasman, or prescribed by a small number of GPs. Researchers say a study from New South Wales' Kirby Institute, which has been presented at the World STI and HIV Conference in Brisbane, has found it is a very effective HIV-prevention tool. "In the first year of taking the medication, if it is accessible to high-risk gay and homosexually identifying men, about 50 per cent of the infections in this population could be averted," researcher Dr Iryna Zablotska-Manos says. The Australasian Society for HIV Medicine says a body of research shows the sooner it can make PrEP available to Australians at risk of HIV, the better." It's been a hot topic at the conference, which is being held in conjunction with the Australasian HIV Conference. Here at home, the New Zealand AIDS Foundation has been given the go-ahead from Pharmac and the Ministry of Health to run PrEP demonstration project, which it hopes to do later this year.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 17th September 2015 - 6:13pm