Taking Prep on demand (discontinuous) is as effective as taking it continuously, announces the ANRS | MIE in a communiqué (July 6). Among the 3,056 volunteers in the Prevenir study, all at high risk of infection, the incidence of HIV on Prep was low (1.1 cases per 1,000 person-years of follow-up) and did not differ between the group using the Prep on a daily basis and the one taking it on demand. Few data existed until then on this method of taking Prep. This three-year study provided new evidence for its addition to HIV prevention offerings and led the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve it for men with sexual intercourse. sex with men (MSM). Six HIV infections were reported during follow-up, three in each group, or 1.1 cases per 1,000 person-years. The researchers estimated that 361 infections were prevented in this way. These six participants had stopped taking Prep a few weeks or months before the diagnosis of HIV. Among them, only one emtricitabine resistance mutation was detected. “Contrary to our initial objective, it was not possible to assess the impact of this cohort on the HIV epidemic among MSM in the Paris region due to the scarcity of reliable data on the number of new diagnoses. of HIV in France caused by under-reporting during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020″, notes Professor Jean-Michel Molina, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Saint-Louis hospital (AP-HP, Université of Paris) and coordinator of the study. This research was conducted in partnership with associations, thanks to the involvement of the association AIDES/Coalition PLUS, the sexual health centers Le 190 and Checkpoint Paris in the recruitment and support of voluntary participants, in conjunction with scientific teams from AP-HP, Inserm, Paris Cité University, Sorbonne University, Aix-Marseille University and IRD. The results appeared June 27 in The Lancet HIV. To learn more regarding the Prevenir study, read our interview by Professor Jean-Michel Molina.
