Two groups of people considered at high risk of contracting HIV now have access to free preventive treatment, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday.
The treatment, in the form of a pill, is being provided to partners of people with HIV and people under the age of 36, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
Known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the medicine is recognized internationally as an effective prevention treatment against HIV, Lo said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The government is funding a program to administer PrEP to the two groups, he said.
The program was launched on April 1, offering 30 PrEP pills per month to female partners of people with HIV, Lo said.
In the second group, 20 free pills would be available every three months to people under the age of 36, and to male partners of people with HIV, he said.
The government is working with 37 hospitals and clinics across Taiwan to implement the free program for a maximum of 1,500 people, he said, adding that the subsidies would also cover HIV tests and service fees.
However, while PrEP has proved highly effective in preventing HIV, people who take the medicine should still not have sex without a condom, as a condom gives greater protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, he said.
Lee Chia-wen (李佳雯), a physician in National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine, said that women are required to take the PrEP pill daily, while men take it before and after sex.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV when taken daily, reducing the risk of contracting the disease via sexual encounters by more than 90 percent.
Among intravenous drug users, PrEP reduces the risk of HIV by at least 74 percent when taken daily, but it is much less effective if it is not taken consistently, the Taiwan CDC said.
Taiwan’s CDC data show that 1,391 people contracted HIV in Taiwan last year, with 66 percent under 36, Lo said, adding that about 90 percent of cases were contracted though unsafe sex.
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