Study carried out in Brazil by unaids (Joint United Nations Program on HIV-Aids), in partnership with a dating app, pointed out that the majority of young gay men in the country are unaware of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, popularly known as PrEP or Truvada, compared to adults.
Around 3218 users of the application were interviewed. The result showed that one in four men aged 18 to 25 (24%) said they had never heard of this HIV prevention method. Among those aged 31 to 40, the percentage is one in ten.
PrEP is one of the main technologies offered today to combat the HIV epidemic in the world. In Brazil, the treatment was regulated by the Ministry of Health in 2017, and is offered free of charge by the Unified Health System to specific groups in society, those whose behavior is considered risky, such as sex workers.
Brazil is the only country in Latin America to use PrEP as a combined prevention method and helps, mainly, in serodiscordant relationships – when one has the virus and the other does not. Furthermore, scientific studies have confirmed that a HIV-positive person with an undetectable viral load and up-to-date treatment does not transmit HIV.
The medication consists of antiretroviral pills similar to those taken by HIV-positive people. To use Truvada, however, the person must NOT BE a carrier of the virus that causes AIDS.
It is also important to emphasize that the effectiveness of the treatment in preventing the disease is more than 90%. However, PrEP does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis and hepatitis, among others.
