HIV Prevention Pill Truvada Helps Couple Cope with Stress of Virus
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(SEATTLE) — Nick Literski, 45, and Wes Tibbett, 39, have been together for six years, and their bond is strong. But when Tibbett was diagnosed with HIV in 2009, it was a major blow to the Seattle couple. Tibbett became terrified of giving the virus to Literski.
“I was heading down the road of not wanting to be around anymore because I felt too unsafe to be around him. I was too afraid of infecting him,” Tibbett said.
“When Wes became positive, it was a strain for both of us,” Literski said. “It’s actually very common for people to break off their relationship when one partner contracts HIV.”
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, correct and consistent condom use greatly reduces the risk of HIV transmission. So does being in a monogamous, long-term relationship. But Tibbett and Literski still worried.
Both men started taking a daily pill called Truvada. Tibbett took it as an HIV treatment six months after he was diagnosed, but in November 2010, the couple’s doctor suggested Literski start taking the pill to prevent infection. The men said the drug took the weight of worry about the virus out of their relationship.
“Condoms don’t always work. Sometimes they break,” Tibbett said. “If we’re intimate and I have an accident, I’m not as worried for Nick.”
Last week, an advisory panel recommended Truvada for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a tool for HIV prevention, a landmark in the 30-year fight against the deadly virus.
Truvada was previously approved for treatment of HIV, and some people, like Literski, got the drug off-label as a prevention method. But the advisory committee’s vote officially recommends the use of the drug for preventing infection.
Proponents hailed the committee’s vote on Truvada as an historic step in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but critics say the drug has the potential to create a false sense of security for those at risk, perhaps leading them to practice safe sex less diligently, thinking they are protected by the drug.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio