How Common is PrEP Failure?

In honour of World AIDS Day on 1 December, we review PrEP failure and whether this is as commonplace as people think it is.

First of all, for the uninitiated, PrEP is an acronym for pre-exposure prophylaxis – a treatment for HIV-negative patients to prevent HIV infection.

For example, this would be administered if a patient who is HIV negative is exposed to foreign bodily fluids like blood in order to prevent the individual from contracting HIV. Often prescribed to patients who are at very high risk for HIV, daily PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV from sex or injection drug use.

The four non-biomedical types of PrEP failure includes poor adherence by the patient, PrEP discontinuation, PrEP refusal and PrEP contemplation (which refers to a patient expressing interest in the drugs but do not start taking it before the become infected).

In extremely rare cases, you will have biomedical PrEP failure caused by drug resistant antibodies in patients who are compliant and adherent to the protocols. Thus far, there have only been 7 cases of biomedical PrEP failure worldwide, with the latest case being reported in Australia in March 2019. It’s actually incredibly rare for the drugs to fail when the patient is taking the medication correctly.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in America, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken daily. Among people who inject drugs, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV by at least 74% when taken daily.

For those infected with HIV, patients will be prescribed ARV and antiretroviral therapies (ART) in order to manage their condition. Eating healthy foods and being inspired by healthy recipes is a great way to support their immune systems and stay healthier for longer.

For more healthcare related topics and CPD events, visit Unilever Health today.

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