After sleepless nights conducting research, a team of Australian medics has discovered and successfully tested a drug with the ability of stopping HIV infection. The drug branded as Truvada, according to the Sydney based researchers, was tested on over 3,700 people and the results were remarkable.
In a study published in October 2018, the medics said the blue Truvada pill targeted gay men (3669) and slightly above 30 bisexuals. The two groups were selected since they are classified as high risk populations. “The speed of the decline we have seen in new HIV infections in gay and bisexual men is a world first.
These numbers are the lowest on record since HIV surveillance began in 1985,” study leader Andrew Grulich was quoted by Bloomberg. Grulich is also head of HIV epidemiology and prevention at Kirby Institute of the University of New South Wales. Before the tests were launched, about 300 Australians (gay and bisexual) would be infected with the deadly virus within 12 months.
However, after the pills were administered in 2016, the number dropped to 102 by October 2018. Those who were infected are largely those who defaulted on adhering to the pills. The study came in the backdrop of an another research done by Israel scientists. They discovered a drug branded Gammora with ability to sweep away HIV infected cells from the body with an effectiveness rate of up to 99%.