Cancer drug finds HIV hidden in the body_美文_双语阅读-查字典英语网

Cancer drug finds HIV hidden in the body

Kali Lindsey of the National Minority AIDS Council says the drug could have a major effect.

KALI LINDSEY: “Using Truvada -- or pre-exposure prophylaxis -- to prevent acquiring HIV for an HIV negative person is a game-changer, and it’s something that I believe is going to really take us to the next level.”

Gottfried Hirnchall is the director of the HIV/AIDS program at the World Health Organization in Switzerland. He spoke to VOA on Skype.

DR. GOTTFRIED HIRNCHALL: “We have to really see how this could best be done and which would be the populations or the individuals where this would pay off.”

Dr. Hirnchall says intervention with Truvada is not for everyone.

DR. GOTTFRIED HIRNCHALL: “Let’s remember, once you start on pre-exposure prophylaxis you cannot just take it some days and not on other days. So we will really have to provide the support to people to take this every single day of their life. And let us also not forget we have many other prevention methods now available that we can use.”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Using Truvada can be costly. Only those who can pay for the drug for the rest of their lives can start using it. And AIDS experts say its approval does not end the need for safe sex practices, like men using condoms.

Yet not all AIDS activists believe people should take Truvada. Michael Weinstein is head of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He says the drug can cause damage to a person’s kidneys and could cause bone loss. The FDA says serious bone or kidney problems in the Truvada studies were “uncommon.”