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Last week it was announced that life saving HIV-preventative Truvada, otherwise known as PrEP, will be listed under the Federal Government’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Meaning that from March 1, the revolutionary drug will cost Australians tens of dollars, as opposed to tens of thousands of dollars.In some states, people have already been accessing cheap PrEP through loophole medical trial schemes like Victoria’s PrEPx. Sponsored by the Victorian Government and the Victorian AIDS Council, PrEPx has provided free PrEP to more than 4,000 volunteers. And the Victorian Government has announced today it will extend the scheme by three months in order to ensure PrEP users will have uninterrupted access to the drug as it becomes cheaper and more readily available to all Australians. The PrEPx trial period was originally meant to conclude in March, but will now continue until June 30.According to UK organisation Aids Map, Truvada works in a similar way to antimalarial tablets:
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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CVC), daily PrEP usage reduces the risk of contracting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent. Among people who inject drugs, it reduces the risk by more than 70 percent. In Australia, HIV transmission occurs primarily through sexual contact between men. PrEP is even more effective when used in conjunction with condoms.At the end of 2015, an estimated 25,313 people were living with HIV in Australia, as per the Kirby Institute’s 2016 Annual Surveillance Report. Among those people, it's thought around 10 percent didn't know they were were HIV-positive.In a press release, Victorian Minister for Health Jill Hennessy expressed her relief that PrEP will finally be covered by the PBS.“Finally, Australians can be protected by the inclusion of PrEP in the PBS – it’s long overdue. Improving access to affordability of care is the first step towards eliminating transmission,” she said. “This decision will have a tremendous effect on at risk Victorians and Australians and will fundamentally improve our HIV prevention response.”"Somebody who does not have HIV takes enough antiretrovirals (ARVs) for there to be high levels of the drugs in their bloodstream, genital tract and rectum before any exposure to HIV. If exposure occurs, the ARVs stop the virus from entering cells and replicating. This prevents HIV from establishing itself and the person remains HIV negative."