Wetin we know about di Preventative HIV drug wey study say dey highly effective

One drug wey dey stop HIV from infecting di body don prove to be a very high effective "real-world" preventative treatment, na wetin one study tok.

Many pipo call di results of di research wey 24,000 pipo take across England, as "reassuring".

Thousands of pipo don already begin take di PrEP drug through sexual health clinics.

HIV charity di Terrence Higgins Trust want easier access to dis drug, since many pipo, including women, no know say e dey exist.

Di UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), wey dey led di PrEP Impact Trial wit di Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, say na di largest ever real-world study.

Na NHS England fund am, dem do am for 157 sexual health clinics across England between October 2017 and July 2020.

Di study find out say di use of PrEP, wey dem also dey call pre-exposure prophylaxis. Dey reduce di chances of getting HIV by around 86% if you dey use am every day – dem also factor in inconsistent or incorrect use. Clinical trials suggest say di medication dey 99% effective.

Dr John Saunders, one consultant for sexual health and HIV wey work on di study, say: "Dis trial don further demonstrate di effectiveness of PrEP to prevent HIV transmission and, for di first time, show di protective effect wey dem bin report for earlier trials, but on a scale, wey dey delivered through routine sexual health services for England."

Di Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity welcome di study publication, but say "dem need to do more" to increase access, and awareness of, di drug, particularly among some minority groups.

Debbie Laycock, head of policy, say: "We feel say certain communities and individuals at di moment dey wey for fit benefit from PrEP but dem no get access to am."

"Many women just not know say PrEP dey exist," she add.

She say di charity want make PrEP dey available for pharmacies and online to increase access to am.

Dr Saunders say although di clinical success of di drug dey proven, dis study also reveal oda important information about how to use di drug.

"Before, we no know how many pipo go want am, take am, or how long dem go use am for," e tok.

"Now we know who dey prescribe am and we fit work with clinics to try and get more pipo to take am."

Im say di "real-world effectiveness" go depend on many factors, particularly if dem dey take di drug correctly.

'Liberating'

Harry Dodd, wey bin take part of several PrEP trials, say taking di drug don "empower am" as im no longer dey fear say im go catch HIV.

"I neva tink about dat for di best part of a decade and dat dey liberating. I don get long-term partners wey get HIV since [taking di drug] and dat bin no dey my mind before. Now I get confidence to love freely."

However, Oga Dodd, 33, from north London, say im believe say "stigma" dey attached to di drug as e dey "sexually related and historically dey connected to gay communities".

Di UKSHA say di effectiveness of di drug go help achieve di goment aim of zero HIV transmissions by 2030, but e add say more pipo need to take am.

Dr Saunders say while gay and bisexual men dey most likely to use di drug, many pipo from oda groups, like straight women, go benefit from taking di drug.

How PrEP, dey work

PrEP, wey contain existing HIV treatment drugs tenofovir disoproxil and emtricitabine, dey work by stopping HIV from entering di body and making copies of itself.

You fit take am either as a daily pill or an "event" basis before sexual intercourse.

Di decision to make di treatment widely available for NHS for England for 2020 dey partly based on earlier findings from dis research, as well as results of early clinical trials.

Di results of dis study, dem publish am for Lancet HIV, dem only just release am because of di large sample size and di time e take to peer review am.

John Stewart, National Director for Specialised Commissioning for NHS England and co-Chair of di PrEP Impact Trial Oversight Board, say: "No be only say di trial directly prevent many cases of HIV, help normalise di use of PrEP, remove stigma and pave way for a routinely commissioned clinically and cost effective PrEP service; but e also make real contribution towards our goal of ending new cases of HIV by 2030.

"We dey happy say PrEP don prove to dey highly effective to reduce di risk of getting HIV and pipo fit access am free from sexual health service."