Prevention of AIDS — Core Principles

Core Principles

Preventing AIDS fundamentally means preventing HIV infection. HIV is transmitted through specific bodily fluids: blood, semen, pre-ejaculate, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The main routes are unprotected sexual contact, sharing contaminated needles, and mother-to-child transmission.

Key prevention strategies include consistent and correct use of condoms, ensuring blood safety through screening, and promoting sterile injection practices. Biomedical interventions like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk HIV-negative individuals and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for emergency post-exposure situations are highly effective.

For HIV-positive individuals, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) not only manages their health but also prevents onward transmission ('Treatment as Prevention' or U=U). Preventing mother-to-child transmission involves ART for pregnant mothers and safe delivery/feeding practices.

Regular HIV testing and education are crucial for early diagnosis, treatment, and informed decision-making to halt the spread of the virus.

Important Differences

vs Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) vs. Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)

Aspect	This Topic	Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) vs. Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
Timing of Use	Taken *before* potential HIV exposure (proactive)	Taken *after* potential HIV exposure (reactive, emergency)
Target Population	HIV-negative individuals at ongoing high risk of acquiring HIV	HIV-negative individuals who have experienced a recent, specific potential HIV exposure
Duration of Treatment	Daily or on-demand for as long as high-risk exposure continues	28-day course, started as soon as possible (within 72 hours) after exposure
Purpose	To prevent HIV infection from occurring	To prevent HIV infection from taking hold after a potential exposure
Mechanism	Maintains protective drug levels in the body to block viral replication upon exposure	Floods the body with antiretrovirals to stop the virus from replicating and establishing infection post-exposure

PrEP and PEP are both biomedical tools utilizing antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention, but they serve distinct purposes based on the timing of intervention relative to exposure. PrEP is a proactive strategy for ongoing protection in high-risk individuals, taken continuously to maintain drug levels. PEP is a reactive, emergency measure initiated rapidly after a specific potential exposure to prevent the virus from establishing itself. Understanding this temporal difference and their respective target populations is crucial for effective application.