B.C.'s Treatment as Prevention Strategy Expands with Pilot Project for Non-Occupational High-Risk Exposure to HIV
Non-occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (NPEP) Aims to Reduce HIV Infections
Vancouver, British Columbia (July 9, 2012) - The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) today
announced the launch of an 18-month pilot program to prevent infection in people who have had high-risk exposures to HIV through sex or
sharing needles.
The new pilot program, called Non-occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (NPEP), provides British Columbians who have
had such high-risk exposures with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Studies show that when HAART is offered within 72
hours following HIV exposure, the risk of acquiring HIV decreases by approximately 80 per cent.
NPEP is a pilot program that supports the BC-CfE's Treatment as Prevention strategy that has been successfully
underway in B.C. for several years. The intent of the NPEP pilot is to further curb HIV & AIDS-related morbidity and mortality
and prevent new HIV infections through the provision of short-term HAART treatment following a non-occupational high risk
exposure. Treatment as Prevention has helped B.C. become a global leader in HIV treatment, care and prevention. As
reported earlier this year, B.C. is the only region in Canada seeing a consistent decline in new HIV cases, from
approximately 900 new HIV diagnoses per year in the mid 1990's to 289 in 2011.
Dr. Val Montessori, co-chair of the BC-CfE's Therapeutic Guidelines Committee, is leading the NPEP pilot. For more than 15 years, the
BC-CfE has offered a Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) program. PEP consists of offering short-term HAART to individuals at high risk of HIV
after occupational exposure or sexual assault. "The NPEP program will leverage the success and experience of the PEP program, and it
dovetails perfectly with the overall HIV Treatment as Prevention model pioneered by British Columbia," she said. "It is important
to note, it is the intent of the NPEP pilot to provide medication only in cases where there is a high risk of HIV infection."
Over the next 18 months, the BC-CfE will be working with the pilot sites to collect data, monitor and evaluate the NPEP
program. At the end of the pilot, recommendations based on the scientific evaluation of the data will be submitted to the B.C. Ministry
of Health's Pharmacare program, which is funding the NPEP pilot medications.
"It is important to test the proposition that NPEP can be an effective tool in reducing new HIV transmission rates in certain
high-risk situations," said Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer.
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About the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS:
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada's largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment
and education facility. The BC-CfE is based at St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE
is dedicated to improving the health of British Columbians with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related diseases.
For additional information, please contact:
Mahafrine Petigara
Edelman (for BC-CfE)
604-623-3007 ext. 297
mahafrine.petigara@edelman.com
Source: https://www.providencehealthcare.org/news/20120709/bcs-treatment-prevention-strategy-expands-pilot-project-non-occupational-high-risk-0
Reproduced with permission - "BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
(BC-CfE)"
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE)
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