Healthy gay men 'should be offered HIV drugs'

  • Health
The daily pill Truvada has been hailed following a 'game-changing' trial Credit: PA Wire

Healthy gay men should be offered a HIV drug to prevent infections, scientists have suggested.

A new study has found that exposure to the HIV drug Truvada can reduce the risk of infection in gay men by as much as 86%.

Researchers from the Medical Research Council described the findings as a "game-changer".

Sexually active gay and bisexual men are at the highest risk of HIV infection.

An estimated 2,800 gay men were infected with HIV in 2013.

As part of the Proud study, 545 high-risk men were divided into two groups.

  • Of the 269 men not given Truvada, 19 became HIV positive.

  • But of the 276 men treated with the medicine, just three were infected with HIV over the subsequent year

The findings, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, also showed that taking the drug to protect against HIV did not appear to affect the rates of condom use.

Dr Michael Brady, medical director at the HIV/Aids charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said the drug could offer "another line of defence" alongside condoms and regular testing, and "significantly increase" the momentum in the fight against the virus.

"PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxisis] is, quite simply, a game-changer," he said.

"We urge the Government, NHS England and local authorities to make PrEP a key priority in the fight against HIV."

Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: "If we can stop people getting HIV by giving them PrEP, we have an ethical duty to do so.

"PrEP needs to be available on the NHS as soon as possible for all those who need it."