New antiretroviral drug has been found to cut risk of drug addicts from contracting HIV by nearly 50 per cent according to a new study. The tenofovir pills taken by drug-injecting addicts were less likely to become infected of HIV by half than those who did not.

Antiretroviral for Drug Addicts

Dirty needles can become an instrument for HIV transmission and commonly risks drug-injecting addicts to contract the virus. However, a new study revealed that an antiretroviral drug called tenofovir cuts infection risk of drug addicts by half.

"This provides the totality of the evidence that the drugs used to treat the infection are also very effective at preventing it," said by Dr. Salim S. Abdool Karim, a prominent South African AIDS researcher, quoted by HealthAim.

Antiretroviral drug therapy is a widely used method to manage HIV and with today's advancement in medicine, new powerful additions increase weaponry on AIDS prevention. According to clinical trials, ART can reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child greatly, and also reduces risk transmission in both heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Aside from ART, other preventive measures against HIV and STDs are condoms, abstinence and fidelity, early ART, male circumcision and microbicide gels.

The study for tenofovir involved 2,400 drug users in Thailand and the formal results showed that taking the drug reduced infection rate by 49 per cent. Drug addicts who took tenofovir regularly did much better which 74 per cent less likely to become infected. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, drug addicts account for up to 80 per cent of infections.

Tenofovir Antiretroviral Drug

Tenofovir is marketed by Gilead Sciences under the trade name Viread which belong to a class of antiretroviral drugs. The drug has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA on October 26, 2001 for the treatment of HIV and on August 11, 2008 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

HIV-1 Infection Indications: Tenofovir is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older.

Hepatitis B Indications: Tenofovir is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older.

Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flatulence and renal toxicity.

Tenofovir was also examined for the use as a pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV infection and it found out that tenofovir alone can significantly decrease risk of contracting the virus.