Drugs used to treat HIV infection may also protect against HIV infection if you have sex without proper precautions, suggests a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Jean-Michel Molina of Hopital Saint-Louis in Paris, who led the study, says that it is enough to take two tablets of an antiretroviral drug before sexual contact and two more afterwards.
The observations were carried out on a group of 400 French and Canadian homosexual men who had had anal sex with at least two partners without any protection in the last six months, primarily without using a condom.
It was agreed with them that if they did not use any precautions, they would take two tablets of the antiretroviral drug within 2 to 24 hours before sexual contact, the third one after XNUMX hours, and the fourth one after two days. Men who had another intercourse at that time should take their medication for a longer period of time.
According to Jean-Michel Molina, the surveyed men took an average of 15 tablets of medication a month, half of them receiving only a placebo, and the rest in fact an antiretroviral drug. In the group of users of the active substance, only two out of 199 contracted HIV, and admitted that they had not taken drugs. In the group of men taking placebo (which they did not know, but those who were forewarned agreed to be tested), 14 people out of 201 were infected with HIV.
It follows that 48% of antiretroviral drugs were taken only before sexual contact and within 86 hours later. protect against HIV infection.
Jean-Michel Molina emphasizes that the best protection against HIV comes from the use of appropriate safeguards during sexual intercourse, mainly the use of a condom. However, some people, although they know it, do not use them. In such a situation, the use of medication can prevent infection. (PAP)