Scientific American: HIV Prevention Runs into Trouble in South Africa
“…Researchers had hoped to break the [HIV transmission] cycle by giving young women HIV drugs before they are infected. It’s a mode of therapy referred to as preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. However, when PrEP was given to women as a pill, the results were discouraging because many study participants didn’t take it daily. And the first trial results for the [vaginal] ring are not spectacular. The numbers, reported in February, show that young women don’t adhere well to the treatments. … In the face of this unexpected setback scientists are now trying to develop new, less invasive products as well as giving more forethought into the social circumstances surrounding PrEP use…” (Maxmen, 8/30).