Since its first known case in 1959, HIV has become a worldwide epidemic. HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and can be transmitted through blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and breast milk. The body fluids must come into contact with a mucous membrane (located inside the rectum, vagina, penis and mouth) or be injected directly into the bloodstream for a person to contract the virus. A cure for HIV has yet to be found and prevention is key to stopping the spread of the virus. Using condoms as a preventative method for contracting HIV is effective, but not realistic for the people most vulnerable to it; Truvada, however, is.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP, is a revolutionary drug that, when used in addition to condoms and safe-sex practices, prevents high-risk patients from contracting HIV. PrEP is a combination of two medications in one pill sold under the name Truvada. When Truvada is taken daily, it reduces one’s chances of contracting HIV from sex by over 90 percent and from injecting drugs by over 70%.

As aforementioned, Truvada is not for everyone; only high-risk individuals should consider taking the drug. According to the CDC, high risk individuals include gay or bisexual men who are not in a monogamous relationship, have anal sex without using a condom, or have been diagnosed with an STD within the past six months. Heterosexual men or women who inject drugs or have sexual partners who are at high-risk for contracting HIV (such as bisexual male partners or partners who inject drugs) should also consider Truvada. Women who are considering getting pregnant with an HIV-positive partner should talk to their doctor about using PrEP to prevent their child from contracting HIV during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Because Truvada is a fairly new drug, it is difficult to observe its long-term side effects. The CDC claims that Truvada’s side effects are non-life threatening and tend to subside over time. Truvada’s website, however, claims that Truvada can cause serious side effects such as lactic acidosis, bone problems and severe liver problems.

According to an article written for NPR, Linda-Gail Bekker, the deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town, led a trial study of Truvada that included sexually active teenagers aged 15 to 19. Prior to this, only gay men were included in such studies. Bekker says, “Thirty years into the epidemic, it’s clear that condoms are not the solution for everyone” and refers to the PrEP pills as a “chemical condom.”

Catherine Msimango is an 18-year-old South African woman who is participating in Bekker’s study. She says that the pill gives her power against the virus and is advantageous to condoms because she can take it without her boyfriend knowing. It is unclear whether Truvada will be made available for teens in South Africa when the study concludes, but it is a step in the right direction in preventing the spread of HIV in an area where unprotected sex is commonplace and the rates of HIV/AIDS are among the highest in the world.