Just a quick Public Service Announcement: A Canadian man contracted HIV despite being on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with Truvada for over two years. This article in POZ magazine is from an interview with the guy. Key take-homes: 1) he still strongly recommends that everyone should be on PrEP (and I agree) 2) he contracted a rare strain that has been showing drug-resistance (concerning) 3) it happened because he decided to stop using condoms and because he suspended one of his rules when he encountered the guy who infected him. Conclusions: I will repeat what I have stated here at EC on many occasions. PrEP is NOT to be used as substitute for condoms, the strong recommendation is that it is to be supplemented with the use of condoms. I will also repeat, because it bears repeating, that PrEP does NOT prevent all the other (increasingly difficult to treat due to resistance) STDs, such as chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea and others. Oh, and by the way, getting those other pesky, yet so far still treatable diseases, increases your chances of contracting HIV by four-five times. PSA over and out.
PrEP has been shown to reduce the chances of contracting HIV by as much as 85 percent. It's obvious that PrEP is not a cure, you can still catch HIV fairly easily.
So ideally, it's best to use PrEP AND use condoms as well? And what about Hep A/B? From what I know, you take one shot of the virus, then another shot 6 months later (I think)? I just don't like getting fecal matter on my genitals which is why I'm against barebacking, and the risks that follow it. I seriously wonder how people can just go for it.
Hepatitis A is pretty easily curable. Hepatitis B/C, not so much. There are improving treatments for them but they're still a lot more complicated to treat as they are viral and similar in action to HIV. (This, at least, based on my most recent info, which may not be 100% up to date.) And then there are all of the STIs that are bacterial. So yes, condoms and PrEP are the safest choice. Just always. always. always use a condom. There's simply no legitimate reason not to and, quite simply, someone who doesn't is someone who doesn't care about his own health or safety.
