Truvada (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Norway became the first country in the world to distribute free medicine among the groups at risk for HIV, whose efficiency reaches 99%. This was in October, said Health Minister

was a surprise itself the news of medicine for me to effectively prevent HIV infection - as I think it will be for many of you, all that most of his we know about HIV is still limited to stitching Zemfira "you have AIDS - and then we die ". And even the news that, although dated 21 October, gone unnoticed in runet. On "Giktaymse" - the first exclusive material on this topic in Russian.

According to medical standards Truvada More practically start: the drug was developed by Gilead Sciences and licensed for use by the FDA in 2004.

Tenofovir / emtricitabine, known under the brand name Truvada - a combination of two antiretroviral drugs used for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. July 16, 2012 Office of the Food and Drug Administration recommended the use of a combination of tenofovir / emtricitabine to prevent HIV infection.

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Reading the news, first of all expect a dirty trick not in the lottery, and cards, and did not win, but lost. But if it's a conspiracy, then global: Numerous studies have shown the high efficiency of Truvada for HIV prevention. Article 2012 states that the risk of HIV transmission is reduced by 76-99% depending on the number of tablets per week (maximum efficiency is achieved during daily admission). Washington Post cited data three other studies in which the effectiveness of Truvada varied from 86 to 100% in the past year.

The drug is used in health care in several countries, including the United States, Canada, France and South Africa. Israel at the end of October this year, announced the launch of a pilot project, similar to the Norwegian on its results will have already taken the decision to withdraw and not provable program to the national level. However, the situation is not always cloudless Thus, the decision of the Ministry of Health of England refusing Truvada purchases caused an uproar among charities.

The Israeli Research Center for HIV Kaplan Professor Steger leads the main argument of the opponents of the free distribution of Truvada:

This is an ethical and philosophical question: should society pay for someone's sex without a condom?

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However, he also says:

"The same can be said about the smokers who develop lung cancer. We are not obliged to prevent this, but it would be worth it to try. "

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In Norway, the struggle for lobbyists to become the first country in which Truvada distributed free of charge among the risk group - gays, bisexual and transgender people - took two years. But now their example should encourage other countries. In this case it is not even news about "this money from them" is - in the end, according to Business Insider, «HIV prevention is cheaper and safer than its treatment," and the same Professor Steger noted that although prevention costs can reach thousands NIS per month, the treatment of the carrier during the life can cost millions.

A spoon of tar.

Of course, as with any medication, in Truvada have side effects - not only physiological, but also social: to the extent of its spread, more and more people refuse to use condoms in principle, although the pill does not protect against other sexually transmitted infection.