Dale Britt and Brian LeMaire have been together for
26 years. For all but one of those months, Brian has been living with
HIV. And, in all of their years together, Dale has never tested positive
for the virus.
The
first day of December is World AIDS Day, providing an opportunity for
people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, support people
living with HIV, and remember people who have died. It also provides an
opportunity to increase awareness of and support for prevention tools,
including the use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV.
A
person who does not have HIV uses PrEP to prevent themselves from
becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus. The medication
(Truvada) is taken once a day, and it works by limiting HIV’s ability
to enter into and grow within a person’s body. When used correctly, PrEP
has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing HIV.
PrEP is just one tool that will reduce transmission rates of HIV. Other
forms of prevention include testing, counseling, adherence to treatment
among people living with HIV, and education.
 |
| Dr. Mark Thrun |
“PrEP
is not prescribed lightly, and we require the person using it to commit
to counseling, correct use, and routine HIV and medical testing,” says
Mark Thrun, MD, director, HIV/STD Prevention and Control, Denver Public
Health. “But when we have this commitment, we know that PrEP is
incredibly effective in keeping those at increased risk for HIV free
from infection.”
Denver Public Health recommends PrEP for people who do not have HIV infection and are at increased risk for HIV, including:
- Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who engage in unprotected sex.
- HIV-negative individuals (men and women) who have an HIV-positive sexual partner.
- Injection drug users.
Dale
and Brian lived through the advent of HIV care as we know it today –
antiretroviral therapy (ART). The road was not always easy. And though
the couple lost many friends to HIV along the journey, they always
remained optimistic and never gave up the fight against HIV. Earlier
this year Dale began taking PrEP, a step that both he and Brian felt was
not only important for their future, but also for a future for Denver
in which there are no new cases of HIV or AIDS.
