DOH mulling adoption of preventive medication for HIV

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is studying the possibility of adopting preventive medication for HIV/AIDS that was approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration.

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s pill Truvada was also proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the recent XIX International Aids Conference in Washington, saying that it could cut the transmission of the virus “within couples where one partner is HIV positive and the other is not infected.”

“There is a new window of opportunity but we are studying it. For WHO, Truvada is game changer because this is the closest we have to a vaccine,” DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said.

It was reported that Gilead Sciences Inc. had been marketing Truvada since 2004 as a treatment for people who already contracted the AIDS virus.

But two years ago, studies showed that Truvada could prevent people from getting HIV when used as a precautionary measure.

Daily doses can reportedly cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 percent when accompanied by counseling and condoms.

Another study revealed that in heterosexual couples wherein one partner was infected with HIV while the other was not, the infection rate is cut by 75 percent.

“We want to clarify that this was recommended for couples where one partner is positive while the other is not. This is not for anyone to take, like if they have sexcapade they will take it so that they will not be infected. You have to take it every day,” Tayag noted.

According to Tayag, there are many things that need to be considered before DOH includes Truvada in its anti-HIV/AIDS programs. One of these is the cost of the medicine.

“It costs $13,000 a year, while the PhilHealth subsidy is P30,000 per (HIV-infected) person, per year. Each tablet costs P2,000,” he said.

The country’s campaign against HIV/AIDS is comprised of prevention through the promotion of the so-called “ABC” strategy, which stands for abstinence; be faithful to one partner and condom use.

The treatment aspect, on the other hand, involves the use of anti-retroviral drugs, which slow down the progression of HIV into AIDS.

Tayag added the other consideration is that Truvada is “controversial.”

“People might think that it is okay to engage in unsafe sex because there is a medicine already. But WHO was consistent in saying that if that can help why not try it. It will be a waste since there is already a medicine,” he maintained.

DOH records showed that from January 1984 to June 2012, there were a total of 9,964 HIV cases in the country and 1,061 of them have progressed into HIV while 353 have died.

Of the 9,964 cases, 9,122 or 92 percent were infected through sexual contact; 385 through needle sharing among injecting drug users; 59 through mother-to-child transmission; 20 through blood transfusion and three through needle prick injury.

There was no data available for the remaining 375 cases.