Public Health Grand Rounds Focuses on PrEP for HIV Prevention

The Public Health Grand Rounds.

The U.S. Public Health Service and CDC released new clinical guidelines, on May 14 entitled: Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States – 2014 , which recommend health care providers consider PrEP as one prevention option for patients at substantial risk for HIV infection.

Intended for populations at substantial risk of becoming infected with HIV, PrEP is a new prevention strategy that includes daily medication and routine follow-up. The guidelines offer providers specific advice on how to give people the support they need to take their pills regularly. Given the need for high adherence and the lack of complete protection from HIV with PrEP or any other single strategy, the guidelines encourage providers to promote and support its use in combination with condoms and other proven risk-reduction strategies. Accompanying the guidelines is a supplement that includes checklists and interview guides to assist clinicians with PrEP prescribing and counseling.

During the Public Health Grand Rounds, subject-matter experts will discuss the evidence from pre-clinical research and clinical trials, the recently published guidelines and challenges to effective implementation that must be addressed to make PrEP a success. Those experts include:

Walid Heneine, PhDDivision of HIV/AIDS PreventionNational Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC

Dawn Smith, MD, MS, MPHDivision of HIV/AIDS PreventionNational Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC

Melanie Thompson, MDFounder and Principal InvestigatorAIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta

Moderated by:Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH,Director, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC

For more information:

• PrEP for HIV Prevention
• Public Health Grand Rounds

Questions:

• If you are unable to attend the Grand Rounds, send your questions.