To PrEP, or not to PrEP That is the question, says Christo Valentyn, when it comes to safe sex and HIV prevention.
You may have noticed that a certain word is making its appearance more frequently in gay news and even on dating apps like Grindr: PrEP, or as some choose to use it, #PrEP. Since our very own government is still in two minds about whether HIV and AIDS exists or not, there is limited communication on the existence, usage and benefits of PrEP, or preexposure prophylaxis, in South Africa, which makes it even more revelatory to see more people embracing and proclaiming the use of it. Surely it’s a good thing that gay men, individually, are looking at modern day preventions to stay safe when it comes to sexual health?
M
y own reluctance regarding PrEP, from a research and usage perspective, may be based on personal perceptions, but in the same breath, I’ve always been a great supporter of safe sex initiatives. Science continues to make exceptional strides in its mission to curb the further spreading of HIV through various drugs, and I remain hopeful every time I read a story about how much closer scientists are to a cure. Most recently, for example, a team of international researchers led by Northwestern University has discovered that HIV continues
80
to replicate new cells at low levels in the lymphoid tissue, even when it is undetectable in a patient’s blood. Although seemingly minute, this discovery could be the breakthrough that many scientists have been searching for to take the next step in HIV treatment and prevention, reports HIV Plus magazine. Why? For the past decade, researchers have known that, although antiretroviral medication can suppress HIV in the blood, the virus remains in the body at the tissue level hiding in the body’s reservoirs. Scientists previously believed that these infected
