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Usage remains low for pill that can prevent HIV infection

Usage remains low for pill that can prevent HIV infection

AP News - "From gritty neighborhoods in New York and Los Angeles to clinics in Kenya and Brazil, health workers are trying to popularize a pill that has proven highly effective in preventing HIV but which — in their view — remains woefully underused.

Marketed in the United States as Truvada, and sometimes available abroad in generic versions, the pill has been shown to reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent if taken daily. Yet worldwide, only about a dozen countries have aggressive, government-backed programs to promote the pill. In the U.S., there are problems related to Truvada’s high cost, lingering skepticism among some doctors and low usage rates among black gays and bisexuals who have the highest rates of HIV infection." (Photo: HIV awareness - 11 September 2013. El Fasher: Patients and relatives of the Women's Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, read information materials on prevention of the HIV given by UNAMID/UNAMID/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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