The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested that gay men take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), as a way of protecting themselves against HIV.
What Is PrEP?
Pre-exposure prophylaxis is usually as a combination of two anti-retroviral drugs in a single pill, taken every day. It’s a way for people who are at high risk of HIV to help reduce their risk of contracting the virus.
Why Should Gay Men Consider PrEP?
The WHO’s suggestion that gay men should take anti-retroviral drugs, even if they’re not infected, doesn’t just stop at gay men. The call’s been made for all high-risk groups, including sex-workers and prisoners, in an effort to reduce the rampant spread of HIV.
What do the stats say?
According to WHO, it’s estimated that female sex workers are 14 times more likely to be HIV positive than any other women, gay men are 19 times more likely to have HIV than the general population, and transgender women are as much as 50 times more likely to be HIV positive than any other adult.
However, experts estimate that PrEP could drastically reduce the risk of HIV in gay men by up to 25%. When taken consistently, PrEP has also been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in high risk people by up to 92%.
Read more: DailyMail