What are the side-effects of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)?
Nonetheless, some people do have short-term problems with tiredness, diarrhoea, nausea, flatulence, headache, vivid dreams and other side-effects. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a method of preventing HIV infection. It involves using a four-week course of the drugs used to treat HIV, taken very soon after a person may have been exposed to ...
Viral load - Aidsmap
You should have your viral load measured when you are first diagnosed with HIV. If it is known that you have very recently become HIV positive (a period known as primary infection), you will have it measured three to six months later to determine your viral load ‘set point’ – the level of your viral load once it stabilises when the period of primary infection is over.
How likely is mother-to-child transmission of HIV? - Aidsmap
Transmission from pregnant women with diagnosed HIV has fallen to 0.3% and 0.2% in the UK and France respectively. In 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa surveyed in 2019, the transmission rate varied between 2 and 25%. The countries with the best figures were Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa and Namibia (all below 5%).
What is the window period for HIV testing? | aidsmap
The median window period is 18 days (interquartile range 13 to 24 days). This indicates that half of all infections would be detected between 13 and 24 days after exposure. 99% of HIV-infected individuals would be detectable within 44 days of exposure. UK guidelines state that 45 days is the window period for fourth-generation laboratory tests.
Female-to-female sexual transmission of HIV - Aidsmap
Key points. The risk of female-to-female sexual transmission is extremely rare, with only a handful of reported cases. HIV-positive women who identify as lesbian may have acquired HIV through injecting drug use or sex with men. Transmission is possible through sharing of sex toys and exposure to blood during sex.
Biktarvy - Aidsmap
Biktarvy is a medication used to treat HIV. It is a combination of three separate antiretroviral drugs in one pill, taken once a day. It combines 50mg of bictegravir, 200mg of emtricitabine and 25mg of tenofovir alafenamide in a purplish-brown tablet with ‘GSI’ on one side and ‘9883’ on the other side of the tablet.
On-demand PrEP is highly effective, but some may find it confusing
Jul 8, 2020 · On-demand PrEP is also known as event-based PrEP or PrEP 2-1-1. It involves taking two tablets 2 to 24 hours before engaging in sex, taking a single tablet 24 hours after the first two, and another tablet 24 hours after that. On-demand PrEP using daily Truvada was shown to be highly effective for gay and bisexual men in the French IPERGAY study.
Are HIV tests accurate in people taking HIV treatment, PrEP
This problem occurs much more frequently in people who began HIV treatment in the first few weeks of infection.For example, up to half of individuals who began treatment very early in infection in Thailand and in France got false negative results of some tests, including rapid tests, self-tests and (less frequently) laboratory tests.. Tests based on second-generation technology (which require ...
CD4 cell counts - Aidsmap
CD4 cells are sometimes also called T-cells, T-lymphocytes, or helper cells. Your CD4 cell count is the number of blood cells in a cubic millimetre of blood (a very small blood sample). It is not a count of all the CD4 cells in your body. A higher number indicates a stronger immune system. The CD4 cell count of a person who does not have HIV ...
HIV-1 and HIV-2 - Aidsmap
HIV-1 and HIV-2. There are two major types of the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV-1, which was discovered first, is the most widespread type worldwide. HIV-2 is more than 55% genetically different from HIV-1. HIV-2 is most common in western Africa and is becoming more common in India, although numbers there are still relatively small.