That method is called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP. This is a combination of two medications called tenofovir and emtricitabine that are used in the treatment of HIV itself. When taken on a daily basis, PrEP reduces a person’s risk of contracting HIV by more than 90 percent in sexually active people, and the risk decreases by 70 percent in those who share needles.
Needle exchange programs have become a highly effective method of preventing the transmission HIV among IV drug users. In fact, the ACLU reports that these programs have removed almost 25 million syringes from drug communities. And the CDC reports that using a sterile, disposable syringe is the most effective way to limit HIV transmission among drug users.
Studies back this up. One study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that high-risk behaviors were reduced by as much as 80 percent in needle exchange programs. A fringe benefit of these programs is that those who participated may be five times more likely to seek help for the drug problem itself. Even the rate of HIV transmission has decreased by somewhere between one-third and two-fifths.
According to Science magazine, vaginal rings reflect a recent effort in the way of preventing HIV infection to high-risk women. A vaginal ring is designed to release antiretroviral medications into the vagina, which may lower the risk of contracting HIV.
Two trials conducted in sub-Saharan Africa have been more successful than others in that that they have been found to reduce a woman’s risk of infection by about 30 percent. This is good news to the science community because other efforts have failed.