London – Delays in
rolling out an HIV prevention pill in Britain are putting gay
men's lives at risk, with thousands buying it online without
medical supervision, HIV campaigners said on Wednesday.
Britain is lagging behind the United States and Kenya, where
the highly-effective drug is more widely available, as health
authorities only give the pills to gay and bisexual men taking
part in a three-year clinical trial, which ends in 2020.
"This is a scandal," said Will Nutland, co-founder of
PrEPster, which is lobbying for the once-daily pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP) pill, also known by its drug brand name
Truvada, to be offered in routine HIV prevention services.
"We have a technology that is cheap, accessible, is
effective and is cost-effective, yet we're still being denied
full roll-out of this drug," said Nutland, who is also a doctor.
"We know of people who have attempted to access PrEP and
then have ended up being diagnosed with HIV three or six months
later."
Studies show that PrEP can cut by 99% the transmission rate
of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Some
340 000 people are taking it globally, according to New
York-based advocacy group AVAC, 40% of them in the United
States.
The number of places on Britain's National Health Service
(NHS) trial was more than doubled to 26 000 in January from
10 000 due to soaring demand, but no date has been set for a
potential national roll-out.
A survey of almost 2 400 PrEP users in Britain published on
Wednesday, by the UK's public health agency and PrEPster and
iwantPrEPnow advocacy groups, found that 54% got free pills via
the NHS trial and 37% bought them privately, usually online.
Some people are also buying PrEP informally through friends
and contacts, while a private doctor's prescription costs about
400 pounds ($482) a month, according to PrEPster.
The survey found that only half of those who paid for PrEP
privately took the necessary kidney function tests before or
while taking the pills, and nearly a quarter had to stop taking
the drug because it was too expensive.
It is important to test for HIV and Hepatitis B before
starting PrEP and to have regular urine and blood tests to
ensure the drug is not damaging bones or kidneys, PrEPster said
on its website, which advises on how to buy pills safely online.
"Despite the side effects of taking PrEP being minimal for
many users, it's vital anyone wanting to or currently taking
PrEP has the relevant screenings," said Liam Beattie, a
spokesman for the Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity.
Some 38 million people globally are living with HIV, with
1.7 million newly infected in 2018, according to UNAids, the
United Nations' Aids agency.