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CDC issues recommendations for high-risk heterosexual couples' use of HIV medication

Category: HIV monitoring/Treatment/Testing/Post Diagnos

One month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the HIV medication Truvada as a preventive measure among high-risk individuals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a set of recommendations for the drug's use among high-risk heterosexual couples. Truvada, along with regular STD testing, may be beneficial for serodiscordant couples, in which one individual is HIV-positive and the other is negative, as reported by HealthDay.

As recently as 2009, about 27 percent of new HIV infections occurred among heterosexual individuals. In order to address prevention within this population, the CDC suggests that Truvada, combined with routine condom use, may keep one partner from transmitting the virus to the other. Heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive individual should also consider a Truvada regimen if they are considering having a baby.

However, HIV-negative individuals who are thinking of starting a Truvada treatment need to be sure they are virus-free first. STD testing can provide an answer.

Control of the HIV virus is a major public health concern in the U.S. According to the CDC, only 28 percent of infected Americans are receiving the medical care necessary to keep the HIV virus in check.